G. Douglas Vallee Limited’s Structural Engineering team was retained by Norfolk County to provide design and contract administration services on the replacement of the culvert on Gilbert Road in Simcoe.

The pre-existing culvert was an undersized concrete box that was replaced with a twin-cell box culvert. The site is immediately downstream of the Hay Creek Dam, requiring careful consideration of hydraulics and hydrology.

Vallee collaborated with the Long Point Region Conservation Authority to analyze flow scenarios with HEC/RAS modelling to appropriately size the structure. The unlikely event of dam failure had to be analysed to ensure that adjacent homes and properties would not endanger adjacent residences.

The work was completed by local contractor Robert Simon Construction on time and on budget in 2023 at a construction cost of approximately $700k.