Project Experience

Commercial, Healthcare, Industrial & Energy, Residential & Mixed Use, Transportation, Water

Vibration Monitoring Experience: Building & Infrastructure Projects

About These Projects

Through the years, we have performed vibration monitoring for numerous architectural and infrastructure projects. This experience includes attended and unattended vibration monitoring of piling, compaction, tunnel boring, excavation, and other construction activities.

Here is a selection of our recent work on building and infrastructure projects:

Common Acoustical Challenges:

Damage risk to nearby buildings and utilities
Piling, compaction and excavation vibration
Tunnelling and drilling vibration
Setting project-specific vibration criteria
Real-time threshold alerts
Long-term unattended monitoring

Vibration Monitoring Experience: Building & Infrastructure Projects

PATTULLO BRIDGE REPLACEMENT

NEW WESTMINISTER, BC

To quantify vibration levels from piling, girder installation, and excavation, we provided attended and unattended monitoring at multiple locations. The purpose of these measurements was to avoid vibration damage to nearby building.

CENTERM EXPANSION PROJECT

VANCOUVER, BC

To measure vibration from underwater densification during the expansion of the Centerm container terminal at the Port of Vancouver, we conducted unattended monitoring at two locations over three months. For the construction of the new Centennial Road Overpass, we provided unattended monitoring at 14 locations to keep tabs on the potential for drilling-related vibration to damage nearby buildings and utilities.

CITYLINK BUILDING

VANCOUVER, BC

During construction of the CityLink building in Vancouver, we developed criteria and conducted unattended monitoring over nine months to measure noise and vibration. To prevent damage to nearby buildings, our vibration monitors were set up to send alerts via text message if levels approached pre-specified thresholds.

DOUGLAS TRUNK SEWER

BURNABY, BC

Upgrading the sewer capacity in Burnaby’s Brentwood neighbourhood, the Douglas Trunk Sewer Project utilized a microtunnel boring machine to excavate a new line to connect two existing lines. Among other services, we conducted unattended vibration monitoring at eight residential locations to measure levels and help the project team limit the risk of building damage.

GOLDEN EARS FORCE MAIN & CROSSING

PITT MEADOWS, BC

This project saw the construction of twin parallel force mains and two 1,650-metre-long horizontal directional drilled crossings beneath the Fraser River. We provided a vibration impact assessment, as well as other services, and conducted unattended short-term vibration monitoring at two locations near the construction area, which was adjacent to a residential area.

PORT MANN/HIGHWAY 1

GREATER VANCOUVER, BC

To reduce risk of building damage due to construction-related vibration building, we provided attended vibration monitoring at multiple locations along the alignment. The construction activities we assessed included pile driving, compaction, excavation, and more.

HEATHER PLACE B

VANCOUVER, BC

To assess vibration levels from excavation and anchor drilling work, we performed unattended monitoring at three locations near the Heather Place B construction site.

SURREY- LANGLEY SKYTRAIN

SURREY,BC

At the Jim Pattison Care Centre in Surrey, we assessed groundborne vibration impacts related to SkyTrain construction and operations. After conducting baseline measurements and an initial assessment of sensitive spaces, such as imaging suites, we performed attended and unattended monitoring at seven
locations to measure vibration from road construction, drilling, and compacting.

Featured Case Study

Transportation

Port Mann / Highway 1 Project

Highway 1 in Metro Vancouver is BC's busiest transportation corridor. The $3.3 billion Port Mann / Highway 1 Project is the largest highway infrastructure project in Canada and has involved widening 37 km of highway, reconstructing 14 interchanges and totally rebuilding the Cape Horn/Lougheed Highway Interchange. The project also included the construction of the new Fraser Heights Connector linking Highway 1 with South Fraser Perimeter Road and the Golden Ears Crossing. During the bid process, the design-build contractor, Kiewit-Flatiron, approached BKL to join its team to carry out the noise impact and mitigation assessments that were required as part of the contract. BKL's scope of work has involved providing all acoustics-related information through three separate client-contracts (with the contractor, Kiewit-Flatiron, with the designer, H5M, and with the public agency, Transportation Investment Corporation) during the bid process, the pre-construction, the construction, and the post-construction phases. BKL services included the following: BKL took advantage of its large team and software to provide timely deliverables. For example, the firm developed three noise models in parallel. In addition, BKL identified risks with proposed noise wall designs and optimized noise wall geometry to meet project acoustical criteria, established compliance with project noise criteria during construction to avoid delays, and met the stringent quality criteria adopted by the project. Have a project in mind? Get in touch today.

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