The Ottawa Confederation Line Extension Light Rail Transit project is the featured cover story in the July/August 2026 issue of Deep Foundations magazine. The article details the innovative excavation support solutions developed by our team to overcome significant site constraints, utility conflicts, and groundwater challenges.
The Confederation Line West – Stage 2 Light Rail Extension is one of the three major extensions to Ottawa’s light rail transit system. This project will add 15 km of rail and 11 new or converted rapid transit stations to the City’s overall light rail transit (LRT) system. Brierley was retained by Kiewit/Eurovia/Vinci Ottawa Partnership to design the support of excavation systems for two portions of the extension: the Pinecrest/Connaught and Parkway Tunnels, up to 11 m and 14 m deep respectively.
Beginning in 2017, Brierley supported the project from conceptual design, through construction. Brierley’s scope included support of excavation systems for almost 1.5 km of cut-and-cover tunnel excavation, rock support design for approximately 3.5 km of the tunnel alignments, and peer reviews.
The article was co-written by Brierley staff members Charles Luxford, PE, PEng; Kris Burnham, PE, and Anna Crockford, PEng; and Hamid Batenipour, PhD, PEng, PE, PMP from Kiewit Engineering Group Canada.