Shimmick relined two sets of aging tunnels along Kanan Road, a rugged and mountainous connection between the 101 Freeway and Pacific Coast Highway. Shimmick devised a novel method to install 1.3 million pounds of new steel liner. Large sections, or ribs, were prefabricated outside the tunnel and then picked up and transported using a custom-fabricated forklift attachment. The forklift then hoisted the ribs into place atop an existing retaining wall. We also blasted paint from and repainted 60,000 square feet of existing tunnel liner and installed 80,000 square feet of waterproofing on the tunnel ceilings. Crews placed 4,300 cubic yards of 2,000-psi backfill concrete to fill the space behind the newly erected tunnel liner by using inflatable bulkheads to minimize labor.
The project won the Small Project, Award of Merit, by ENR California, 2014 and was a finalist for the AGC of CA Constructor Award in the Meeting the Challenge of the Difficult Job in the $10 Million or Below category.
