Transportation Award of Excellence
Tank Hill Emergency Restoration AECOM
An immediate response The fierce rains on Nov. 14 and 15, 2021, caused extreme flooding and mudslides and, in turn, catastrophic destruction and road closures throughout the region. Among the extensive damage was the complete washout of a 100-m stretch on the Trans-Canada Highway at the Tank Hill underpass, which destroyed both road and Canadian Pacific (CP) rail infrastructure. A portion of the roadway and much of the rail bridge fill east of the bridge were completely washed 38
CANADIAN CONSULTING ENGINEER
“They had to make a lot of critical decisions quickly— and did so exceptionally well.” – Jury
away. The railway overpass structure, however, stayed in place on what remained of the exposed and battered piles. Following the storm, AECOM was called on Nov. 20 to provide emergency assistance to help reinstate the washed-out grade of the highway and to design an interim road and at-grade railroad crossing to replace the unsalvageable grade separation structure. AECOM immediately began assembling its team and began design work by the following morning. By Nov. 22, AECOM staff were on-site. Soon, a diverse team of more than 70 specialists from 10 different offices was hard at work on repairing this vital road link between Vancouver and the rest of Canada. On Nov. 23, the team presented two design options, complete with
plan and profile, ready for review by the ministry of transportation and infrastructure. By this time, on-site AECOM staff were alreacy supporting the reconstruction and working collaboratively with multiple contractors. AECOM’s team was focused on developing an interim alignment for a functional highway and new atgrade railway crossing. This work involved highway geometrics design, geotechnical engineering, hydrology analysis and drainage updates, traffic engineering (including railway pre-emption timing for new highway signals), riverbank protection design and engineering services during construction. Meeting the challenge To meet the unusual demands of this project, AECOM mobilized a team September/October 2023
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fter severe storms hit southwestern British Columbia in November 2021, dropping a month’s worth of rain in 48 hours, AECOM provided emergency assistance to the province’s ministry of transportation and infrastructure to reinstate the Trans-Canada Highway at the Tank Hill underpass, where a road and rail grade separation was destroyed, near the village of Lytton, B.C. With funding from the federal government under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) program, AECOM quickly and safely mobilized a team that worked around-the-clock in the coldest weather to hit the region in years. What would typically take months was successfully completed in eight weeks. The road reopened in January 2022.
