The Port of Vancouver USA won an IHS Dredging and Port Construction Innovation Award for its new rail entrance into the port.
The “trench” project was selected over projects at Port Miami and DP World London Gateway to win this prestigious industry award, which was presented at a ceremony in London.
The project involved creating a new east-west rail entrance that eliminated conflicts with north-south rail traffic by bringing trains under the 1908 Columbia River railroad bridge. The unique structure, which is watertight and sits atop more than 410 steel pilings embedded in the river’s north bank, is the cornerstone of the port’s $275 million West Vancouver Freight Access project.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our project and the hard work of everyone involved, including port staff, consultants BergerABAM and HDR Inc., and contractors Hamilton Construction and Rotschy Inc.,” said port interim CEO Julianna Marler.
The trench was completed in August 2015.
Overall, the West Vancouver Freight Access project consists of 21 individual projects to improve the ability to move freight not only through the port but also along the BNSF Railway and Union Pacific Railroad mainlines connecting the Pacific Northwest to major rail hubs in Chicago and Houston, and from Canada to Mexico.
Construction is scheduled for completion in early 2018.
