Ross Bay Revitalization – Rehab Under a Historic Cemetery
- Marissa Watkins
- Jan 17
- 2 min read
Rehabilitating 100-year-old buried infrastructure under a historic cemetery
"When it comes to infrastructure improvements, cemeteries pose a unique challenge to contractors who most certainly do not want to disturb the graves of those buried there. This challenge of not disturbing the eternal resting place for thousands of souls makes trenchless renewal projects a no-brainer.
PW Trenchless Construction Ltd., of Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, tackled such a project in 2016 when it was commissioned to rehabilitate a 100-year-old non-circular sewer under the Ross Bay Cemetery in Victoria, British Columbia.
The Victorian-era cemetery has, for a long time, been more of a park for the locals than a cemetery. David O’Sullivan, owner of PW Trenchless, adds that the cemetery is also a popular tourist destination for history buffs because many of people who helped shaped the growth of Vancouver and British Columbia as a whole are buried there.
“In addition to the site constraints, it is a historic cemetery with some British Columbia’s crème de la crème dignitaries buried there,” O’Sullivan says.
These include:
Sir James Douglas who established Fort Victoria in 1843, was the second governor of Vancouver Island and the first governor of British Columbia. He is also considered the “Father of British Columbia.”
British Columbia premiers Andrew Elliott, Alexander Davie, Theodore Davie, Amor De Cosmos, George A. Walkem, Harlan Brewster, James Dunsmuir, Robert Beaven and Edward Prior.
Emily Carr, a painter who gained fame for capturing the beauty of the West Coast First Nations people’s villages and totem poles.
Originally, the Ross Bay Cemetery had a few creeks running through it, the 1,550-mm by 995-mm (61-in. by 39-in.) storm sewers were built to allow for the creeks to be filled in, allowing for more area for graves. The creeks do not run in straight lines and, as a result, the sewer is a hand-built dual layer of bricks that has many curves and elevation changes."
Ross Bay Revitalization – Rehab Under a Historic Cemetery | March 2, 2018 https://trenchlesstechnology.com/ross-bay-revitalization-channeline-rehab/
