From 2013 to 2019, Binnie was the civil designer for the Escala development in Burnaby’s Brentwood Town Centre. Work included design, preparation of cost estimates, and providing field inspection services during construction. Binnie prepared several designs of the roadworks on Gilmore Avenue for discussion with the City’s Engineering staff to address the steep profile and constraints of the existing properties accesses and underground utilities. The total bonded value of the off-site servicing works was approximately 4.6 million in 2016.
The development currently consists of a 42-story residential tower, and two mid-rise residential buildings, each overtop of five levels of underground parking. The off-site servicing works included roadworks, storm sewer, sanitary sewer, watermain, and rainwater amenities fronting the development site.
The Escala development addressed the need for new residential units for a region where there is a very high demand. The development was redeveloped from an industrial existing site to meet Burnaby’s Brentwood Town Centre Design Standards that enhance the neighborhood while accommodating the increasing population.
This project required trenchless pipe jacking for a storm sewer under Gilmore Avenue in Burnaby. The off-site civil works at the Escala condo development included the crossing to tie the proposed 750mm diameter storm sewer into the existing City’s storm drainage system. A 42” steel casing pipe was hydraulically installed to carry the HDPE storm main while avoiding conflicts with the many existing utilities in Gilmore and managed to keep the busy street on Gilmore Avenue open to traffic.
The project required off-site improvements along the Gilmore corridor, complete with services including water, storm, linear rainwater management amenities, and road widening. Services to the Douglas frontage included decommissioning the old road for Park expansion and a new road alignment complete with sanitary improvements and additional linear rainwater management amenities.
Over the course of the project, challenges regarding the pipe jacking included sizing the casing and spacers, sourcing the right size main, connecting the HDPE pipe to the concrete manhole, shoring a large enough excavation for the 1800mm diameter overbuild manhole, bypassing the existing storm main, and boulders. In the engineering design work, challenges included the reprofiling of Gilmore Avenue at 1st Avenue/Douglas Road to incorporate a new four-leg intersection from the existing three-leg intersection. The existing constraints included a steep road grade and many existing underground utilities. Coordination with the construction work associated with a new Fortis gas main and the adjacent development site to the south were also challenging.
In terms of how it has transformed the community, the new four-leg intersection at Gilmore Avenue and 1st Avenue/Douglas Road improved traffic circulation in the neighbourhood. In addition, the new off-site roadworks improvement has provided enhanced pedestrian and bicycle movement around the development site area.
Some of the newer, lasting innovations for the community include promoting non-vehicular movements through a new typical road section on the adjacent streets on Gilmore Avenue and Douglas Road, which incorporated new pedestrian paths, new street lighting, bicycle lanes, and rain management amenities. In addition, stormwater management has been provided with an onsite detention tank and oil interceptor unit to improve stormwater quality and reduce discharge to the City’s system.
Binnie worked with a large consulting team that included architects, landscaping, electrical, geotechnical, and mechanical consultants to complete the project efficiently.
Please visit binnie.com/projects for more civil engineering and design projects.
