The Ontario region's electrical grid from Thunder Bay to Wawa has been expanded to improve access and service to citizens in the surrounding area, who have not had this possibility until now due to difficult terrain and barriers to grid extension.
Ontario, March 23th, 2022 - Sarens, global leader and reference in crane rental, heavy lift and engineered transportation services, has participated in the development and improvements of the White River (Ontario) power system with the installation of 600km of grid and power towers.
The project was focused on the elevation and transportation of several electricity towers, that would be placed around White River, a mountainous town located in northern Ontario. These works will increase access and energy capacity for the residents of this region, a very important project, as some of them live in remote locations or scattered in the mountains. This project was carried out in collaboration with Sarens and Valard Construction, the suppliers of the electrical infrastructure.
The works to make this electrical network extension possible began back in July 2020, which was a complicated moment due to the Covid-19 infection peak. It was possible to overcome this setback thanks to the coordination work and safety measures taken by the Sarens team in Canada. Due to the optimization of the tasks carried out by Sarens, the installation was completed on schedule, in December 2021.
To start the project, the Sarens’ team first analyzed the terrain, since the towers were installed in remote and difficult to access locations due to the mountainous geography of the region. For this reason, the Sarens team of experts selected machinery that could overcome slopes, and terrain’s irregularities, besides making available to the project managers lifting booms, which could be high enough to lift and place the towers with reliability.
Two 160T and three 200T cranes were selected, both capable of being handled on any type of terrain and to lift the electric towers which were 61 meters high and 2,000 pounds (907KG). Just the transportation to the site took 16 hours, from the beginning of the works at the first location, located 1,200 km away from where the cranes and the rest of the equipment were located. The process of transporting material, lifting the tower and relocating it was repeated over the 600 km to complete the entire installation.
Some of the challenges faced by the Sarens team at this facility were the extremely low temperatures, as the White River region is considered one of the coldest in all of Canada, reaching -58Cº, second only to Snag Yukon at -62.8Cº, located near Alaska. During the work the temperature reached -40Cº, but according to Luke Goodfellow, project manager, "the Sarens team worked tirelessly to meet the agreed deadline".
Faced with difficulties, such as the unevenness of the terrain and extreme temperatures, experience plays a key role, allowing a good organization to carry out the work without major adversities. That is why Sarens' 60 years of experience brought to light its adaptability and wit in projects of different characteristics, allowing to finish the work meeting the objectives set in an efficient and resolute way.
About Sarens
Sarens is the global leader and reference in crane rental services, heavy lifting and engineered transport. With state-of-the-art equipment, value engineering, one of the world’s largest inventories of cranes, transporters, and specialty rigging equipment, Sarens offers creative and intelligent solutions to today's heavy lifting and engineered transport challenges.
With more than 100 entities in 65 countries operating without borders, Sarens is an ideal partner for small-scale to mega scale projects. Sarens currently employs 4,543 highly skilled professionals who are prepared to support any client’s requirements around the globe and across every market sector. (www.sarens.com)