These are photos from jobs of the last several years on the West coast of BC, Canada.
Mostly in rocky and steep conditions...some of the areas where so high and steep that the average operator wouldn't go in. Other places were perched out over the ocean...slide off the path and go directly to the bottom of the sea.
The images have been reduced in size and quality for easier uploading.
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| 1250 Komatsu toying with blast mats...Sea to Sky highway job, segment 1 |
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| Cut 14, Sea to Sky highway, placing blast mats on a pioneering round |
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| The hoe stays in place during the blast to control the blast mats...there are fiber-optic lines close by |
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| Large hoe on a small ledge above the Squamish highway |
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| 450 Deere at night, dealing with a chunk of over-size in the highway...a full closure was in place...no penalty...no yelling |
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| Busy times at Cut 9 in segment1 of the Sea to Sky job...Ranger 800 rock drill, Traxxon built hoe-drill...load out hoe and pioneering hoe in the background |
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| Blasting operations beside the active Squamish highway and under the telephone and fiber-optic lines...very bad ju-ju if you break those |
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| It's very good to have a solid pro in the cab when handling blast mats in tricky situations...and surrounded by worker bees |
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| The very beginning of stripping Cut 4, segment 1 |
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| Traxxon built hoe-drill |
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| Top of Cut 4...looking towards West Van,,,with UBC off in the distance |
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| Looking through the boom and stick of the 1250 Komatsu |
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| 1250 Komatsu at Cut 4 |
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| Swinging blast mats on Cut 4 |
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| Cut 4 ...rock hammer and load out operations |
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| Swinging mats onto a ditch shot at Cut 5 |
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| Happy camper in the 385 Cat hoe |
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| 385 on Cut 7 load out |
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| 385 loading out of Cut 8 |
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| Cut 8 |
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| 385 and 769 haul trucks on Cut 8 |
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| Obviously...not an excavator....but look where this guy spent his day...100 meters above the highway. I'm not saying that he would stop rolling by the time he hit the highway...but that would be one of the features that he passed on the way to the ocean |
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| Big, bad and ugly Cut 9...hoe-drill in upper left...345 hoe on the other side....far right is a 450 with a rock pecker attachment for scaling...small hoe on the ramp, waiting for an operator to show up |
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| Top of Cut 9 before connecting up the north and south cuts...orange spot between the machines is a scaler...hanging from a rope...trying to stabilize the slope before the highway opens again |
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| Cut 9...part of a bolted wall collapsed...very soft and weathered rock in that section....no one hurt |
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| Cut 9 pioneer road...a long ways up |
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| 450 with a rock hammer on Cut 10 |
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| South end of Cut 10 |
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| Rock hammer and stripping operations |
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| Hairy spot on Cut 10...below the Squamish highway ...and above the railroad tracks and ocean |
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| Down at the Cut 10 area railroad tracks....as you can see...the blast mats didn't totally protect the rail this time |
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| Placing blast mats on the tracks before a blast...the small Cat hoe is on a self propelled carriage that runs on the tracks |
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| Placing concrete with the rail bound hoe and carry-all box....couldn't get a truck close enough |
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| South end of Cut 10,,,the beginning of pioneering |
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| Traxxon built hoe-drill on Cut 10 |
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| Cut 10 at the track level;;;looking up at the hoe-drill working on a pioneering round |
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| Cut 10 on the Sea to Sky job...just a few km's north of Horseshoe Bay |
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| Blast debris on the tracks...gets loaded out and hauled away...then the mats are are moved in time for the next train..( on a good day ) |
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| 2007 rock slide at Cut 14 |
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| 2007 Cut 14 rock slide |
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| Working with the blaster to place blast mats |
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| Big hoe, small hoe...working on power pole installation |
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| Darrell Bay rock breaking beside the Squamish highway |
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| Darrell Bay with single alternating traffic |
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| Doodson's Corner...with Ranger 800 rock drill |
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| Hoe -drill at Doodson's Corner |
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| Cut 10/11 area above the rail tracks and concrete crash wall |
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| Cut 10 with a view of Howe Sound |
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| High up on top of Cut 8...removing over burden |
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| Swinging mats at Cut 5 |
Amazing pictures, I would never have guessed that's what it took to build that highway.
ReplyDeleteThanks...it was a chore. Steep mountains on the high side and had to keep the traffic running on the existing Squamish highway...plus go fast and make money...and don't hurt anyone.
ReplyDeleteEven now when I drive on the new road, I wonder what all the fuss was about...nearly forgetting all the drama.
The bonus was working with all the people that made it a successful job...against the odds
Having put most of fifty years in the Heavy and Hi-way construction industry, in the Rocky Mountains. I can relate to this type of work.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazed me that most people think you just order up a few mile of new road and roll it out. LoL.
Thanks for sharing the pictures and also the time you spent doing it.
Thanks, I appreciate the time you took to comment on this piece.
DeleteI wanted to put all the photos and stories out into the world, so that people won't forget what it took to do that job.
huge jobs like this are very rare in the whole of the UK.I worked on similar but much smaller projects so appreciate the amount of high class planning and work required.Top men, top result and thanks for some amazing pics
ReplyDeleteAgreed Robin, the planning function for something as wild as this is a monster project in itself. There were some very smart people behind the scenes.
ReplyDelete