Site preparation will take five-months-more work
Ashley Ford
Province
CREDIT: Jon Murray, The Province Industrial waste dumped into the area over the years creates difficulty for the pile-driving process.
Work on the new convention centre is piling up! The result is the driving of piles on the site will take five months longer to complete.
Russ Anthony, Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project Ltd. president and project director, said yesterday the revised scheduling “is not expected to impact the overall construction of the $615 million project.”
“We build by zone, so the additional time needed for pile driving will not impact the overall construction schedule. We’re still on time and scheduled to open in 2008,” said Anthony.
Pile driving that was expected to be completed by the end of the year will now run through to May of 2006.
“We’re dealing with a land and water site that was used as a dumping ground over the past 100 years. This, together with some unique ground conditions has impacted our site preparation work and we have had to slow down,” he said.
All sorts of industrial waste have been dumped into the area over the years, especially big chunks of concrete, through which it is very difficult to punch the steel piles when they come into contact. A couple of dozen damaged piles have had to be pulled.
About 50 per cent of the steel piles, which will be driven to depths varying from nine metres to 55 metres, have been completed.
Availability of pile-driving equipment has also been a problem. Anthony said they were planning to use up to four pile drivers at once but have only been able to get two at any one time, which is further slowing down the process.
However, the rest of the massive project is proceeding well, he says.
Anthony says other work is either on time or ahead of schedule.
Marine densification to support the piles is complete as is the main structure for the elevated viaduct that will connect the foot of Burrard with Thurlow Street. Some road sections have been poured and work is now under way at the foot of Burrard to connect the viaduct to Canada Place.
That viaduct will be open to construction traffic next year with public access following in 2008.
A new parking structure at the west end of the site is ahead of schedule and be completed by year end.
© The Vancouver Province 2005
