Work continues on Trent-Severn Waterway.

Maple Reinders’ work is well underway on the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) Infrastructure Rehabilitation project. Major rehabilitation work on the Waterway is being completed in four separate construction management contracts, representing four bundles of work: Central, North, South and Kirkfield. Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd., in joint venture with Construction Demathieu & Bard Inc., is working on the Central and South bundles. Maple Reinders Constructors Ltd. was additionally awarded the contract for the North bundle.

The canal – which contains 44 locks, 39 swing bridges and 160 dams and control structures that together manage the water levels for flood control and navigation on lakes and rivers – was constructed in different stages but all more than 100 years ago and thus many structures are nearing the end of their life cycle. The goal of the overall project is to repair or replace assets in poor condition with similar structures while maintaining important cultural and heritage elements of the original construction. Some of the work currently underway includes the following:

Bundle: TSW Central; Site: Nassau Guard Gate

The existing Nassau Guard Gate is 70 years old and at the end of its lifecycle. To lower the risk of flooding, the installation of new protective “Guard Gates”, as well as the creation of an earthen dam, is being completed. The Nassau Guard Gate project incorporates several elements of heavy civil construction including excavation, diving operations, cofferdams and rock anchors, as well as environmental protection measures and landscaping.

Bundle: TSW North; Site: Bayview Dam & Bridge

Lock 45, the smallest lock on the TSW, acts as the northern gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. The work at Lock 45 and the Port Severn Dams consists of the rehabilitation or complete replacement of eight sites, including Bayview Dam. Bayview Dam, known as Dam E, is a 35m-long single sluice dam built to allow passage of instream flow requirements through Port Severn road, which is also being rebuilt at Bayview Dam E. Work under this contract includes the rehabilitation of two dams and replacement of the bridge.

Bundle: TSW South; Site: Healey Falls

Locks 16/17 are one of the few “flight locks” on the TSW where boats get raised or lowered two steps at the one site. The walls of the upper lock had been replaced prior to the Infrastructure Rehabilitation project, so work is now focused on replacing the lower lock chamber walls, re-facing the mass concrete monoliths and installing new steel gates to replace aging timber gates which hold back water 8m high.

Bundle: TSW South; Site: Crowe Bay

Crowe Bay is currently one of the largest sites underway on the TSW. The demolition and replacement of a headrace bridge leading to the power generating station onsite has already been completed in a tight shutdown window of less than three months. Work is now focused on the Dam 12 mechanization, with demolition of the existing spillway section and the addition of four large mechanized vertical gates.