Big ships need big jetties—and the DCC team is rising to the challenge at CFB Esquimalt as two 70+ year old jetties prepare for replacement to serve the new Arctic and Offshore Patrol Ships (AOPS) in 2023.
For now, the focus is B Jetty—the old one has been removed and extensive remediation and dredging completed. The preparatory work included removing a range of artillery from the ocean bottom, building the jetty support structures as well as blasting thousands of metres of bedrock to create the jetty berthing areas. Now, the project team is onto construction of the 270-metre jetty.
Along with constructing all the critical services needed for ships porting at site, the Jetty is also being built to withstand whatever Mother Nature will throw at it.
"It's designed to be earthquake and tsunami proof. When the big one comes, it'll be the jetty that is used to bring essential services such as food to the residents of Vancouver Island–that's the plan," said Tyler Slobodan, DCC Acting Team Leader, Construction Services at CFB Esquimalt.
It has already managed to weather the COVID-19 pandemic with construction proceeding with relative ease, though some tasks were adapted to ensure the safety of workers.
Keeping a project like this on track is no small feat—273 piles will be placed over two years of piling-focused work, with schedules at times spanning 24 hours a day.
"It's a big project—there's a variety of services involved—from environmental management and engineering/structural components, to design work. It's really very interesting." said Slobodan.