Walkers, runners, cyclists and businesses now enjoy the benefits of a new dyke
running through the Fraser Foreshore Park in southwest Burnaby.
The dyke, required to meet new flood protection guidelines, posed significant
challenges. The most critical challenge was how to accommodate a trail network on a
dyke that runs along a thin ribbon of riverfront between the foreshore and businesses.
With the foreshore to be protected, there was no room for a traditional dyke with
3H:1V side slopes, while the initial concept of a structural floodwall could not easily
accommodate the trail. Our design team, drawing upon their significant dyke design
experience, went to work to determine a solution that would address all project
constraints.
Through collaboration with stakeholders, the design team developed an innovative
approach incorporating Lock‐Block walls to retain both sides of the dyke, reducing the
dyke’s footprint significantly. This design addressed the most immediate concerns of
maintaining foreshore and trail, as well as providing significant additional benefits.