years. When Rankin was awarded a contract by the Ontario
Ministry of Transportation to reconstruct the ferry docks at
Amherst Island, it was a natural choice for the company to
select Berminghammer to provide the equipment.
“Bermingham prides itself on their lasting relationships
with clients and owners,” Zanchetta said. “When Rankin was
awarded the project, they knew and trusted that Bermingham
would be an asset to the design, installation, staging, resource
supply and management of the work.”
The upgraded project will include reconstructed ferry
terminals at both Millhaven and Stella to accommodate the
end-loading ramps for the new Frontenac ll ferries and the
future new Amherst Island ferry. The goal is to create easier
access to and from the island, improve the overall efficiency
of ferry operations and accommodate the increasing number
of large commercial trucks and farm equipment that use
the service.
The design phase of the project concluded in summer
2017 with the construction phase following soon afterward.
The new end-loading docks are scheduled to be in service
by June 2019 and the project is slated to be complete by
summer 2020.
Although Bermingham was not directly involved in the
initial design or material selection for the project, Zanchetta
said the company was consulted regarding the practicality of
the proposed design and what equipment and process may
be suitable for its installation. He added that Bermingham
recommended MS Cable Grout when Rankin was having difficulty
maintaining the integrity of the toe pin cavity due to
weak rock on one section of the project.
During the construction, Bermingham’s Construction and
Equipment divisions have been heavily involved in various
aspects of the work. At the height of production, Bermingham
contributed two drilling crews. Starting October 2017,
Bermingham Construction was contracted to install 16 rocksocketed
piles, 24-inch diameter in the open water from a
barge. These piles are used to support the temporary dolphins
that stabilize the ferry during loading and unloading.
Bermingham Construction was also contracted to install
sheet piles for the permanent dockwall structure, along with
the toe pins, rock anchors, walers and tie-rods that hold the
structure together. Berminghammer’s equipment supply and
manufacturing division supplied all of the rock-socketing
systems (large and small diameter) as well as vibratory hammers.
Work on the permanent sheet pile walls began this
February and is likely to wrap up in early 2019.
Berminghammer has also supplied the toe-pin drilling
system since October 2017 and anticipates this system will
remain in use until early 2019.
“Essentially, Amherst Island is getting upgraded ferry service,
and this involved creating a new dockwall/pier on both
sides,” Zanchetta said. “Bermingham RC drilled to install the
larger king piles that the ferries will ultimately moor against.
These piles were rock socketed to prevent against any movement.
The sheet pile walls were installed to the depth of rock
at most locations. Berminghammer provided equipment to
drill holes for steel toe pins that would secure the bottom of
the sheet pile wall and prevent toe failure.”
Zanchetta says there have been plenty of challenges so far.
He notes that while half of the project was executed on the
mainland (Milhaven), which is readily accessible by truck,
the other half is on Amherst Island, which is accessible only
by ferry. The technical requirements were also unique.
“This project is memorable because of the uniqueness
to the equipment selection,” he said. “The equipment strategy
was formulated based on the need to be able to switch
between drilling and sheet piling systems regularly and often.
Having a flying system that could easily disconnect from the
crane allowed Rankin to utilize the same crane to complete
both the drilling and sheet piling operations.”
He added that the most challenging portion was a project
acceleration which involved predrilling into a rock trench to
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
“The equipment strategy was
formulated based on the need
to be able to switch between
drilling and sheet piling
systems regularly and often.”
– David Zanchetta
56 Q4 2018 www.pilingcanada.ca
/www.pilingcanada.ca
