With trucks, tanks and troops regularly rumbling over the 1,500 km of roads and another 900 km of tracks in the range and training area at 5 CDSB Gagetown, these corridors need plenty of upkeep. Fortunately, the 1,100-km2 base is also home to areas that can be quarried to supply crushed rock for the job.
After helping DND manage the Morrison quarry to the end of its life cycle—providing environmental, project management and other expertise over a decade—DCC worked with DND to open a new site this year. This, involved, among other things, examining maps and a consultant’s study of the type of aggregate that each of four possible sites would yield. The new Boone Mountain quarry will produce roughly 1.8 million tonnes (180,000 truckloads) of predominantely basalt aggregate and is expected to last 15 years.
DND units need aggregate not only for roadwork, but also for training exercises (to set up bivouacs, for example) and for some capital building projects. Sourcing the material on-site, rather than having to acquire it from elsewhere in the province, saves both time and money.
To ensure safe and efficient blasting, crushing and stockpiling, DCC is now helping manage the new quarry. In particular, the DCC Gagetown team is coordinating the activities of the DND units that use the site and the material produced, explains Site Manager Craig Mercer.
His team, led by the late Nathan Stewart, developed a comprehensive rollout plan. We looked at the quarry itself to figure out where to start development and where to pile the material such that all groups can work efficiently. Developing the plan also meant pouring over site photos like generals planning a battle to determine optimal truck routes through the quarry.