In
2015, RECo Canada was awarded the MSE wall design and supply portion of
the Regina Bypass project for the Province of Saskatchewan. Slated to be
complete in 2019 and billed at approximately $1.88 billion, the Regina
Bypass is the largest transportation infrastructure project in the province’s
history.
With
61 km of new highway being built in the City of Regina, the project was
divided into three areas. The project commenced in early 2015. Area 3 (Phase
1) to the east of the city and connecting to the existing Trans Canada
Highway was completed and opened to the public late 2017. The other Areas
1 & 2 (Phase 2) are in their final stages of construction and are scheduled
to open to the public in late 2019.
The
project provided numerous challenges throughout the design, production
and construction phases, including constraints due to certain specifications
required for the project such as cold weather and harsh environmental factors.
The City of Regina is commonly known and characterized by very soft
clays, known as “Regina Clay” which typically exhibit high settlement
rates. One of the major advantages of the Reinforced Earth TerraClass®
system is its ability to accommodate high-anticipated settlements without
a significant impact on the structure’s overall stability and aesthetics.
One
of the most challenging aspects of a project this size would be the construction
& fabrication. The Regina By-pass project consisted of 21 bridges with
44 structures, a total wall area of 23,000m2. There was a total of 11,800
panels required to be fabricated and shipped to the project. A special
and accelerated panel production plan took place in order to meet the stringent
construction schedule.
Watch
this video to see updates of RECo's involvement in this project.