Selected Techniques:
Stone Columns
Dynamic Compaction


Treatment Area:
4100m – Stone Columns
2900m – Dynamic Compaction


Project Depth:
18-20m


The Oceanfront Park development was planned to be constructed at the end of Galbraith Road near Newport Beach in Squamish, BC adjacent to the water of Howe Sound. The development was proposed to infill the sub and intertidal areas south of the existing beach to create areas for public use. The total site area is approximately 13.5 acres and will include a public beach, wind sports, beach, recreation areas, public events, and public walkways.

Ground Conditions

The project site in general consists of dredged sand used as fill underlain by low plastic silt over fine to mediumgrained compact sand to silty sand. The groundwater level has been identified at elevations ranging from 0.0 to 0.5 m geodetic due to the proximity to the ocean.
The proposed park area when finished would create new slopes around the entire park with some locations showing the risk for flow failure as a result of liquefaction from a potential design earthquake.

Menard Canada Solution

Ground improvement was recommended by the Geotechnical Engineer to treat the project site near the existing foreshore to mitigate liquefaction effects such as flow slides, which would cause lateral and vertical movement along the shoreline. Menard carried out the ground improvement solution of installing Vibro Stone Columns to approximately 20 m depth to meet the project performance specification. The treatment extent also contained zones with partially contaminated soil and construction waste where Menard was able to successfully conduct ground improvement using an alternative method of Dynamic Compaction to treat the top 18 m of the soil. The effectiveness of the ground improvement techniques was assessed by a series of Cone Penetration Tests (CPT), Standard Penetration Tests (SPT), and Dynamic Cone Penetration Tests (DCPTs).

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