PROJECT

ARC Resources

Attachie 07-17 Lease Pad Construction

Project Details

CLIENT

ARC Resources Ltd. 

PRIME CONTRACTOR

Halfway River Frost LP

LOCATION

Inga Lake / Attachie, British Columbia 

CONTRACT

07-17-088-23 W6M – Liquid Sales Terminal 

DURATION

2023

Project Overview

Halfway River Frost LP delivered civil earthworks and lease pad construction for ARC Resources’ Attachie 07-17 liquid sales terminal in the Inga Lake area of northeastern British Columbia. 

The civil design provided for a 69,600 m² usable pad within a 12.86-hectare facility site, with a 60-metre approach road connecting the lease to the existing road network. The construction scope combined grubbing and soil stripping, cut-and-fill earthworks, compaction, site drainage including French drains, geosynthetic installation, aggregate placement, and materials testing. 

HRFL coordinated excavation, hauling, grading, compaction, survey, and mechanical support, with field crews managing haul routes, material placement, and changing site conditions.

The civil construction scope covered site preparation, lease earthworks, access, drainage, geosynthetics, aggregate surfacing, and materials testing. 

Site Preparation & Earthworks 

  • Grubbing and stripping of A and B soils 
  • Loading, hauling, and stockpiling salvaged soils 
  • Common excavation and on-site cut-and-fill operations 
  • Controlled lift placement, moisture conditioning, and compaction 
  • Subgrade grading, field survey, and machine grade control 
  • Materials testing and field quality coordination 

Access, Drainage & Surface Construction 

  • Lease approach-road construction and culvert installation 
  • Ditching, site drainage, and construction haul-road maintenance 
  • French drain installation and associated aggregate placement 
  • Unloading and installation of owner-supplied geosynthetics 
  • Placement and compaction of owner-supplied aggregate 
  • Topsoil replacement on cut-and-fill slopes, site clean-up, and demobilization

The lease was developed using common material excavated from the padsite and placed within designated fill areas. The Civil Construction Work Package identified estimated volumes of 140,000 m³ of cut, 140,091 m³ of fill, and 38,473 m³ of topsoil stripping. 

Field operations involved 470 excavators loading rock trucks, dozers spreading material in 300 mm lifts, and packers compacting the fill. Water trucks supported moisture conditioning and dust control, while graders maintained haul routes as the work advanced. 

Topsoil and subsoil handling formed a separate part of the construction sequence, with stripped materials moved into designated stockpiles before the main earthworks program progressed. 

The access scope included the lease approach from Inga Lake Road, culvert installation, and associated earthworks. The design identified a 60-metre approach, with a 600 mm-diameter, 18-metre-long culvert listed among the owner-supplied materials. 

Crews also undertook site ditching, reviewed drainage elevations, and maintained haul roads and stockpile approaches. This work supported equipment movement and material handling as excavation and fill placement progressed.

The construction scope expanded to include French drain installation to address site water conditions. HRFL’s additional scope covered the labour and equipment for drain installation and associated aggregate placement, with ARC responsible for supplying the drainage pipe and rock. 

HRFL worked with ARC’s field team to incorporate the additional drainage work into the active lease construction program, alongside the core earthworks, approach-road drainage, and site ditching activities.

The pad design specified a single layer of Combi-grid between the finished subgrade and the aggregate surface. HRFL’s scope included unloading and installing owner-supplied geosynthetics, followed by spreading and compacting aggregate supplied and delivered by ARC Resources. 

The documented scope included approximately 69,600 m² of geotextile installation and a planned aggregate quantity of 32,000 tonnes. The work brought together subgrade preparation, geosynthetic installation, and granular surfacing for the terminal pad.

Topcon grade-control systems and field survey supported construction layout, excavation, and lift checks throughout the earthworks program. Daily field records describe checks of 300 mm lifts, elevation surveying, moisture conditioning, and compaction testing by Third Party. 

Materials testing was added to HRFL’s scope during construction, complementing the survey, lift-control, and compaction activities documented in the field records. Ground crews and survey personnel coordinated with equipment operators as the cut areas, fill areas, and haul routes changed. 

Daily planning addressed equipment movements, ground-crew interaction, stockpile conditions, site access, and changing weather. Haul-road maintenance, radio communication, spotters, and dust-control measures formed part of the field program. 

Soil handling and drainage were coordinated around the defined lease footprint and non-classified drainage area. The scope also provided for returning salvaged topsoil to cut-and-fill slopes and completing site clean-up as part of the finishing work.

The Attachie 07-17 Lease Pad Construction project demonstrates Halfway River Frost LP’s ability to coordinate large-scale earthworks, access construction, drainage, and field quality control for energy infrastructure development. 

The work brought together Frost Group’s heavy civil equipment, field supervision, machine-control capability, and construction support, with additional drainage and materials-testing responsibilities incorporated as project requirements evolved.

Key Project Highlights

69,600 M²

Design Usable Pad Area

140,000 M³

Design Cut Volume

140,091 M³

Design Fill Volume

32,000 T

Planned Aggregate Placement