Vancouver International Airport is the second busiest airport in Canada and a major trans-Pacific hub. Over the last few years, the Vancouver Airport Fuel Authority have been working on a new aviation fuel delivery system to serve the airport. In January 2021, Brownline has assisted in the final leg of this project with the surveying of two drills in this very busy area.
Both drills, one under the busy No. 3 Road and the other under Great Canadian Way intersections were essential for the construction of a 13-kilometer underground pipeline system. The pipeline is spanning from a Marine terminal located off the south arm of the Fraser River to the airport and is set up to meet the long term fuel requirements of the airport. The completion of the fuel delivery pipeline project will meet the airport’s growing fuel demand. Up until now, this has largely been reliant on tanker truck transport of fuel to supplement the overwhelmed existing fuel delivery system.
The trajectories for both drills were designed to allow for minimal impact on the surrounding community, businesses and traffic during construction. With several surrounding utilities throughout the length of Bridgeport Road, completing these drills in a safe, timely and accurate manner was crucial. The Drillguide Gyro Steering Tool was chosen for its unmatched speed and accuracy combination. Without any inference on the steering system from the surrounding utilities and infrastructure, but with the short set up time and real-time measurements both the pilot hole and product pipe installations were completed within 24 hours for each of the drills. This meant that the hard-working citizens of the Vancouver airport area could get back to business without long construction activities impeding their daily commute.
This project will allow for safe and reliable transport of fuel for the airlines and airport for the foreseeable future. We are very happy with our contribution to this important project!