Revised Final Environmental Study Report (24 MB) - Gold Canyon ...

Canada flow gauge on the Cat River, below Wesleyan Lake (04GA002). Drainage area at the
bridge site is 1366 km 2 and it is 5390 km 2 at the gauge. Forty-three years of record are available.
The latter method resulted in a higher flood flow, so this is used for design.
The proposed bridge is 36.58m (120’) long to clear span the channel. The bridge will be high
enough to meet minimum vertical clearance requirements for floods and navigation. The proposed
superstructure will be a modular truss bridge design. The bridge abutments will be treated timber
cribs, similar to most bridges on forest access roads in Ontario. The design drawings for the
project are:
Drawing 1 of 2, General Arrangement Drawing, Adamson Consulting, Rev. 1, Oct 18/12
Drawing 2 of 2, Bridge Abutment Construction Drawing, Adamson Consulting, Oct 15/12
Construction Strategy
At present, it is proposed to construct the Birch River Bridge in February or March of 2013. This is
the open fisheries timing window when the risk to fish is lower. Access for construction will be
along the new trail construction route.
The bridge abutments will be located back from the water’s edge, therefore no permanent instream
excavation or in-stream fill will be necessary. February and March are the months with the
lowest flows and water levels during the year.
Bridge construction will be carried out by a competent and experienced bridge contractor and Gold
Canyon Resources will arrange to monitor construction and do a final inspection to confirm the
bridge is built properly. Any significant problems or deviations from the drawings will be brought to
the attention of the design engineer for advice.
On the bedrock river banks rock excavation will be necessary to achieve satisfactory road grades
and to found the crib abutments on level ground. The material removed will provide rock rip rap for
erosion protection in bridge and culvert construction.
Although the contractor has not been selected yet, in general terms the expected strategy is:
1. Mobilize equipment and materials (incl. timber, steel superstructure, hardware, crib fill, ramp fill
and rock rip rap materials) to the site by winter ice road over Springpole Lake from the camp to
the outlet of Birch River from the lake.
2. At present, the planned winter ice road would allow access to both sides of Birch River by trails
from Springpole Lake. If all goes as planned, it shouldn’t be necessary to ford the river for
construction. However, the fall-back plan in case of schedule delay or unseasonably warm
weather, would be a one time ford (across and back) by the backhoe to the far shore, as
permitted by DFO’s Operational Statement for Clear Span Bridges. Due to the steep
approaches, the ford crossing may have to be at Site #1, approximately 200m upstream of the
proposed bridge site.
3. At each abutment location, the foundation area will be prepared by bedrock excavation and the
crib abutment will be constructed to the bearing level.
Birch River Bridge Adamson Consulting Page 2 of 6
Springpole Trail October 21, 2012