Ormston Subdivision: From Cast in Place to Precast

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In early 2018, MTE Consultants Inc. designed and tendered a servicing project for 143 lots for the Ormston Subdivision in Kitchener, Ontario. Included in this project was the construction of an inlet trench with approach slabs and a maintenance chamber. The original design called for a cast-in-place construction of the inlet trench. The project was awarded to In4structures.

Due to a need for increased speed of construction the possibility of cold weather installation, and superior quality control, Coldstream Concrete Ltd.
was subcontracted by In4structure Ltd. to redesign the inlet trench as a multi-piece precast structure to meet the construction schedule set by Activia Holdings Inc. (Site developer/Owner).

MTE Consultants worked with Coldstream Concrete engineering/manufacturing teams to redesign the trench as a precast element. The inlet trench, approach slabs and chamber were redesigned to suit common precast practices.

The trench and all of its components were constructed using epoxy coated reinforcement and came equipped with concrete corbels on either side to support the precast approach slabs. Each trench piece has six separate galvanized steel angles cast into the concretes’ top edges for protective nosing and to seat the recessed roadway grating.

On May 23rd, 2018, Coldstream Concrete Ltd. supplied a seven-piece precast concrete trench complete with approach slabs and a maintenance chamber to the Ormston Subdivision in Kitchener, Ontario. The trench was installed on Blair Creek Drive near Topper Woods Park (minutes from Highway 401). The trench was installed and backfilled in less than two days.

MTE Consultants was very satisfied with the outcome of the project. By choosing to use a precast concrete solution to address the challenge of fabricating this inlet trench, the owner, Activia Holdings Inc., received superior products and were able to accelerate their construction schedule.

By: Will Bokma, P.Eng., Structural Engineer, MTE Consultants Inc.