Ryzuk Geotechnical undertakes work in a wide variety of environments and situations. We accept work ranging from small residential projects to large government and commercial endeavors. The following is a list of some of our more notable and diverse projects:
Kinsol Trestle - Cowichan Valley, BC The Kinsol Trestle, measuring at 38 m high and 188 m long, is one of the largest railway trestles in Canada and was constructed in 1920 to cross the Koksilah River. Lack of maintenance made the trestle unsafe to cross in 1979, and in 1989 the trestle was deemed off-limits for the public. After a series of studies and successful capitol campaigns, extensive rehabilitation of the trestle was undertaken. During the repair process the foundation elements of the trestle were upgraded by construction of new footings and installation of seismic anchors. In addition, the adjacent rock slope was closely assessed and remediated to reduce the risk of rock slope failure that could catastrophically damage the trestle. The Kinsol trestle will continue to be a popular tourist attraction, a destination for locals and a reminder of historical mining and logging industries.
Oak Bay Beach Hotel - Victoria, BC Currently under redevelopment, the new Oak Bay Beach Hotel replaces the original structure built in 1927 and will become one of Victoria’s premier resort destinations. Construction of the hotel began in November 2009, is expected to be completed in March 2012 and will boast 100 luxury suites and 20 waterfront residential condominiums. The hotel is pursuing the LEED Gold environmental standard, striving to set a benchmark for sustainable design. Excavation on this site exposed bedrock that was highly variable and unpredictable, requiring continuous monitoring to ensure worker safety. Other geotechnical considerations included controlled blasting techniques, rock bolting for temporary stability, installation of foam to limit backfill pressures and recommendations regarding foundation drainage and bearing capacity for footings.
Uptown (Town & Country) Redevelopment - Victoria, BC One of the regions largest construction projects, the completed development will be over one million square feet and will include commercial, retail and residential components. Ryzuk Geotechnical involvement has included a detailed geotechnical site assessment, provision of recommendations relating to perimeter excavation cutslopes and shoring, foundation design, backfill materials, lateral earth pressures, drainage and seismic site classification. All components of the typical Victoria soil sequence were exposed within the bulk excavations leading to varied options being utilized for support of perimeter excavation cutslopes and foundations. The CSA certified laboratory at Ryzuk Geotechnical has also had involvement in many aspects of the concrete and soil testing requirements for the site.
Royal Jubilee Hospital Patient Care Tower - Victoria BC A new 500 bed multi storey patient care tower for Vancouver Island Health Authority has been constructed at the existing Royal Jubilee Hospital facility. Ryzuk Geotechnical provided recommendations relating to perimeter excavation cutslopes, foundation design, lateral earth pressures, selection of backfill materials (including use of light weight materials to mitigate seismic loading), drainage and seismic site classification. The bulk excavation was generally completed within bedrock and guidance was provided to the contractor relating to blasting adjacent to existing structures. The CSA certified laboratory at Ryzuk Geotechnical carried out the concrete and soil testing requirements for the site.
Johnson Street Bridge - Victoria, BC The proposed replacement option for the historic Johnson Street Bridge will provide a modern, more practical link between downtown Victoria and Esquimalt, while upgrading the existing bridge to current standards would maintain a piece of downtown Victoria history. Originally designed in 1920 under the direction of Mr. F.M. Preston, the bridge was completed in 1924 and reportedly cost $918,000. Ryzuk Geotechnical has been involved in assessing the geotechnical characteristics of the existing bridge. Our scope included developing a computer model and undertaking detailed analyses of how the existing bridge foundation and abutments will perform during various design earthquakes. Subsequently, we completed preliminary design of mitigative measures that would be necessary for seismic upgrading of the bridge foundations, abutments, and retaining walls to current earthquake standards.
Aria - Victoria, BC The Aria is a prestigious development undertaken by Alpha Project Developments comprising two 12 storey towers located adjacent to Crystal Gardens, a heritage building in downtown Victoria. Ryzuk Geotechnical was responsible for the geotechnical aspects of design of excavation cutslopes, the raft slab foundation as well as dewatering considerations. Excavation for two storeys of below grade parking was challenging as the site is located in an area of the old Victoria Harbour that was infilled in the early 1900's. Tidal influenced groundwater fluctuations were assessed with three groundwater monitoring wells, and an impermeable dyke was constructed to prevent against long term dewatering below the adjacent Crystal Gardens. A raft slab was utilized for foundation support due to the presence of soft clay at depth over a portion of the site. Routine evaluation of the water wells and careful monitoring of construction induced ground vibrations was also necessary to allow construction in close proximity to the heritage building. The Aria stands as a testament to spectacular design and solid engineering.
Bamberton Mine - Bamberton, BC The history of the old Bamberton mine site is as intriguing as the current remediation works undertaken by Three Point Properties with the goal of future development of the property. The limestone mine operated from the late 1800's through to about 1975 for production of cement, and in the process resulted in several large quarries and extensive site disturbance. In conjunction with the environmental consultants, Ryzuk Geotechnical developed a plan to infill the main quarry with potentially contaminated materials from the industrial processes. The remediation project involved hauling and placement of some 800,000 tonnes of material that took upwards of two years. Our involvement included design of a specially engineered soil storage facility utilizing a gravity dam structure to retain the nearly saturated low strength soils, along with provision for subsurface drainage of the quarry walls and floor. In addition, we undertook an assessment of the west quarry wall to determine the risk of rockfall during the course of fill placement. The soil storage facility was subsequently capped to prevent rainwater infiltration and in the future will be established as green space or recreational area. The project has been nominated for or has received several provincial and/or national awards for environmental reclamation / remediation.
Dockside Green - Victoria, BC The Dockside Green Project is being developed on a fifteen acre former industrial land, with a planned total of 1.3 million square feet of mixed residential, office, retail and commercial space. The site itself is split roughly in two, with the west half of the site situated on native soils and/or bedrock, and the eastern half consisting of reclaimed harbour. Construction within the reclaimed harbour has posed a significant geotechnical challenge due to the highly variable silty clay based fills containing organic debris and building waste. Ryzuk Geotechnical developed a unique cost effective solution whereby the soil remediation method involved the mixing of cement into the existing contaminated materials to create a stable engineered fill for support of buildings. Overall costs for such remediation were roughly half that of alternative options. To accommodate the excess contaminated materials excavated from the site, an elevated water feature was constructed through the middle of the site, constructed as a two sided retaining wall structure, with future buildings eventually supporting the structures. Such features dramatically reduced the need for expensive off-site soil remediation.
Parkside - Victoria, BC The Victoria Resort and Spa, situated in downtown Victoria, consists of two multi-storey towers over a site wide two level underground parkade constructed to property line. While the majority of the excavation was in bedrock, a significant challenge faced by the excavation contractor was the controlled blasting required immediately adjacent to existing structures. Using carefully controlled blast techniques, the excavation was to within a few centimeters of adjacent buildings. The bedrock conditions on site were highly variable, and required careful consideration in regard to rock slope stabilization, lateral earth pressure distributions on foundation walls, and shear wave velocity determination for site classification.
Chemainus Quay - Chemainus, BC Ryzuk Geotechnical was retained to provide geotechnical guidance on this very interesting project involving proposed construction of a full service marina, a floating hotel, a 25 m bridge over an eel grass bed to a proposed artificial island, and luxury condominiums along the foreshore area. Ryzuk Geotechnical involvement has included the analyses and design for construction of the armour protection within the intertidal area for the bridge approach, the design of the artificial island, as well as the investigations and design for the pilings supporting the bridge, marina, and floating hotel. We have also provided guidance relating to rock slope stability in areas where excavation was necessary and monitored geotechnical aspects of construction of the bridge approach within the intertidal area. The design of geotechnical aspects for such projects is very interesting considering the dynamic energy environment of the ocean. The vision of the designers with the support of strong engineering will undoubtedly make this a project to remember.
The Juliet - Victoria, BC The recently completed Juliet Residential/Commercial Development in downtown Victoria required a complex shoring system to support adjacent buildings. The three levels of underground parking was completely within the Victoria Clay Sequence, consisting of stiff to very stiff marine silty clays, changing to soft to firm silty clays at depth. The shoring system implemented consisted of soldier piles and rock anchors, with shotcrete lagging. The construction of the building was unique in regard to maintaining current groundwater levels in the compressible normally consolidated marine clays found at depth.
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