Dean said, “Our wide range of construction activities and
knowledgeable crews have allowed us to shift from one field
of construction to another as markets dictate; although most
of our projects have some marine element, even if the work is
performed from shore.”
The Windsor-Detroit Truck Ferry Project represents
many of Dean Construction’s capacities compressed into
one small site.
“The Windsor-Detroit Truck Ferry Project included large
diameter pipe piles driven from barges, which were cleaned out
to bedrock using a custom-made fly-drill, grouted tensioned
and tested rock anchors, small diameter pipe piles, steel sheet
piling, tremie concrete placement into custom-built steel, left-in-
place concrete forms, steel ramps and related fabrications,
as well as dredging, pre-treating, rehandling, trucking and
disposal of contaminated sediments and armour stone shore
protection,” said Dean. “All activities on the project were done
in compliance within strict Ministry of Transport Ontario
guidelines under Dean’s MTO Core Quality Control Program.”
Strong reputation
Dean Construction is one of the largest marine contracting
and deep foundation specialists in the Great Lakes region. As
concern grows over the poor quality of the Great Lakes eco-system
and the need to reduce pollution, contain or remove
contaminated sediment and remediate the environment,
the company remains committed in helping to protect and
restore environmentally sensitive wetlands, fish habitats and
recreational areas through the construction of fish spawning
areas, artificial reefs, waterfowl habitat and environmentally
conscious shoreline protection.
“We are continually purchasing, upgrading and building
new equipment to improve the quality and efficiency of our
work,” said Dean. “We are fully staffed and equipped to per-form
virtually all types of pile driving, preboring, subaqueous
drilling, caisson, cofferdam, dredging and barging work.”
When asked what the biggest changes have been in the pile
driving industry over the past 20 years, Dean says the increased
number of viable deep foundation options in use today.
“The new foundation systems have been tested and field-verified.
Engineers now have the information to use these
systems to make deep foundations more economical,” he
said. “Dean’s ability to install many of these systems, and
the fact that we are not locked into specific technologies
or suppliers, gives us the flexibility to propose a variety of
alternatives to owners and engineers.”
However, above all else, Dean Construction would not be
the success it is today without its strong safety initiatives.
“We’re currently pursuing our COR certification,” said
Dean. “We have created a position and hired a full-time
safety manager to facilitate this. In addition to legislated
safety requirements, we also incorporate eCompliance
and ISNetworld to manage and track our safety efforts
and documentation online. We also tap into local and
industry-specific safety resources, such as the Industrial
Education Cooperative.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Windsor-Detroit Truck Ferry Project
Many Dean Construction disciplines took place on
this small site. Clockwise from bottom-center:
• Custom-built fly drill kelly-bar for cleaning out pipe piles
• Large diameter pipe-pile driven 70 feet to bedrock
• Fabricated steel left-in-place formwork supported
with internal pipe piles/diesel hammer
• Dean-owned crawler cranes
• Partially constructed, temporary, contaminated sediment
holding structure/Canada Customs Ferry office
Driving large-diameter pipe piles, on a batter, from a barge
on the Sterling Marine Fuel Site Dock project in Windsor
30 Q2 2018 www.pilingcanada.ca
