Hovering for covering on the Grand River in southern Ontario

Unique Enbridge maintenance project involves helicopter to protect environment, minimize inconvenience

Enbridge recently went to great lengths—and heights—carrying out preventative maintenance where our Line 8 crosses the Grand River in southern Ontario.

Pea gravel and river stone fill have been added to a shallow pit above a small section of the 20-inch-diameter liquids pipeline where it crosses the river just south of Cambridge. Slow erosion from current, known as scouring, was identified through our normal inspection program.

As a result, we painstakingly planned a unique maintenance project that would protect the environment and minimize inconvenience for the recreational kayakers, canoeists and hikers that frequent the picturesque stretch of the Grand.

Enter Sprint Mechanical, owner of a twin-turbine, heavy-lift Sikorsky S-58 helicopter out of the Greater Toronto Area operated by Zimmer Air.

Transferring the gravel and river stone by helicopter from a staging area over two days in early September meant the job required less time, and far less disturbance to the environment because no heavy equipment needed to enter the water. River traffic from recreational users was interrupted for mere minutes over the two days rather than hours, all part of a regulator-approved public awareness program and site safety plan.

“Safety and protecting the environment were front and center throughout the many months of project planning for what ended up, by intention, as a project that lasted mere hours instead of days or even weeks, apart from the period of staging the material and equipment beside the river,” says Chris Sparkes, a construction superintendent with Enbridge.

“It took a team effort from start to finish and the flawlessly executed work was a credit to everyone, employees and contractors alike.”

Observers from nearby Indigenous communities also attended the work site during the project.

Various environmental permits and approvals supported the maintenance, including those for species-at-risk freshwater mussels (Wavey-Rayed Lampmussel) and fish (Silver Shiner and Black Redhorse).

Mussels were temporarily moved prior to the onset of the in-water works while turbidity curtains protected the river’s fish life and kept silt, fill material and any turbid water confined to the immediate work area.

Water turbidity immediately downstream of the work area was also monitored to confirm the mitigation measures were working to prevent impacts to the river and downstream habitats.

For the project team, nesting bald eagles in the area were another important consideration.

(TOP PHOTO: Enbridge teamed up with Sprint Mechanical, owner of a twin-turbine, heavy-lift Sikorsky S-58 helicopter out of the Greater Toronto Area operated by Zimmer Air, for a maintenance project on the Grand River near Cambridge in early September. Use of the helicopter lessened disturbance to the environment and reduced inconvenience for local water users.)