The Brookfield Place is a full-block commercial development in Calgary’s downtown core consisting of a 22 meter deep excavation where RWH Monitoring (RWH) was contracted to monitor the stability of the shoring in addition to surrounding infrastructure. The zone of influence of the excavation consisted of multiple sensitive assets requiring stringent movement tolerances including the light rail transit system, multi-story and historic buildings, as well as an underground utility tunnel.
RWH successfully developed and implemented a comprehensive monitoring solution consisting of surface settlement points, inclinometers, extensometers, 3D point cloud scanning and precision survey targets to monitor the stability of these assets.
The bedrock in Calgary possesses a weak rock layer and the presence of unique locked in stresses, which were released once excavated, producing a global shift throughout the project site. As a result of the monitoring system implemented, RWH was able to accurately document the movements and quickly communicate the possible implications to all stakeholders, providing recommendations as required to ensure the safety of the shoring system. This project demonstrates RWH’s ability to provide a quality monitoring program focused on reducing the risk of performing a deep excavation in a busy urban area.
