Highway 5 Reinstatement

The November 2021 atmospheric river event caused widespread damage to the Coquihalla Highway, with extreme river flows causing the collapse of several major bridges. Temporary emergency repairs were made to keep the critical route open between the coast and the interior of BC. BASIS were then engaged as part of an engineering team to design permanent repairs to the corridor. BASIS were the lead Geotechnical Engineer-of-Record for the entire project and the Bridge Engineer-of-Record for two of the six new replacement structures.
The schedule was critical to restore the important route, so geotechnical investigations began immediately. This allowed the construction of the piled foundations for the first bridges to begin within three months. These were the twin northbound and southbound Juliet Bridges, for which BASIS provided all the structural along with the geotechnical engineering. Easily constructable solutions were developed for the two 108 m long four-span concrete box girder bridges. Multiple precast pier caps and girders were designed for accelerated bridge construction, and two lanes of traffic were able to be open within four months. BASIS provided structural and geotechnical construction services throughout the project. The project was awarded the ACEC BC Award of Merit.