Facilitating Calgary's growth with the 144 Ave NW connection

With Calgary's northwest growing rapidly, the City of Calgary required a connection between the new communities of Evanston, Nolan Hill, and Sage Hill. The 144th Avenue NW Connection was recently built, bringing the three communities together.

Thurber began working on this project in 2018 when we did the preliminary investigation. We then supported ISL Engineering in the detailed design, including bridge foundation recommendations. The road alignment passes through areas of soft clay which have the potential to settle and slide. We provided stability analysis and recommendations for supporting the bridge abutments. This involved installing a shear key (essentially replacing the clay with gravel).

We also provided pavement structure recommendations and advice for managing the rock cut, and provided geotechnical and materials services for the construction of a three-tiered retaining wall.

During construction, Thurber provided Quality Assurance as the owners' engineer. This involved oversight during the soft clay removal and shear key placement, compaction testing, and other materials testing.

We've also installed instrumentation to monitor the embankment settlement.

The road opened to vehicles on September 30, 2024.