Sep 24 2025
University of Alberta Faculty Club (11435 Saskatchewan Dr NW, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G9)
TAC Alberta Chapter Talk: Geological and Geotechnical Conditions for Microtunneling in Jacko Lake
Date: Wednesday, Sep 24, 2025
Time: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Location: University of Alberta Faculty Club, 11435, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2C5, Canada.
Topic: Geological and Geotechnical Conditions for Microtunneling in Jacko Lake
Presenters: Niels Rasmussen, P.Geo. (Thurber Engineering) & Xiaobo Wang, Ph.D., P.Eng., P.Geo.(Thurber Engineering)
Registration Cost:
$10 - TAC Members
$20 - Non-members
$5 - Students
Presentation Overview:
The Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP) extends from Edmonton, Alberta, to the Westridge Marine Terminal and the Chevron refinery in Burnaby, British Columbia. The expansion is essentially a twinning of this existing 1,150 km pipeline and involves the construction of 980 km of new pipeline, 193 km of reactivated pipeline, 12 new pump stations, 19 new tanks, and three new berths.
The Jacko Lake area along the TMEP alignment, located in Kamloops, British Columbia, was identified by Indigenous groups as a spiritual and sacred location. To minimize surface disturbance, the new pipeline installation in the Jacko Lake area was completed with trenchless technologies, including microtunneling and horizontal directional drilling. The geotechnical investigations for the trenchless design and construction in the Jacko Lake area included geological and geotechnical background study, detailed geotechnical site investigation and geophysical surveys, geotechnical instrumentation and monitoring, and extensive laboratory testing programs. Challenging geological conditions included rock of varying strength and fracturing, clay, sand and gravel layers under muskeg terrain, and fault zones along the tunnel alignment.
This presentation provides an overview of the geological and geotechnical conditions for the microtunnelling design and construction in the Jacko Lake area.
Meet the Speakers:
Niels Rasmussen, P.Geo.
Mr. Rasmussen is a geologist with Thurber Engineering Ltd. with over 15 years of geological and geotechnical experience. Mr. Rasmussen has a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology and is registered as a professional geologist in Alberta. He has been involved with managing drilling programs, conducting desktop studies, installing geotechnical instrumentation, and interpreting instrumentation data. His expertise includes geotechnical site investigation; geotechnical instrumentation, monitoring, data reduction, and interpretation; air photo interpretation; trenchless utility installation; highway studies; and recreational parks and trails.
Xiaobo Wang, Ph.D., P.Eng., P.Geo.
Dr. Wang is a senior geotechnical engineer with over 25 years of experience in geological and geotechnical engineering. He joined Thurber Engineering Ltd. in 2007. Dr. Wang has extensive experience in the fields of geological and geotechnical engineering involving natural resources, infrastructure, transportation, municipal and industrial developments. His expertise includes geotechnical site investigation and material characterization; foundation analysis and design; slope engineering and retaining system analysis and design; landslide investigation and mitigation design; pile load testing and dynamic analysis; geotechnical analysis and design of underground structures (pipeline, tunnels, shafts, and culverts) and trenchless installation; numerical modeling of geosystems; seismic site response analysis and soil liquefaction assessment, seismic analyses of slopes and earth structures; frozen ground engineering, thermal analysis, and engineering practice; geotechnical instrumentation, monitoring, data reduction, and interpretation.
