Abstract

The walls of trenches dug for municipal public works must be vertical, because of the lack of available space and the multiplicity of underground pipes. These walls must be shored if they are not to collapse. This project was undertaken to develop and validate a shoring system that would ensure the safety of excavation work in urban settings. The system allows safe shoring of soils found in the Montreal area to depths of 3.7 metres. In order to promote the use of the system on a wider scale, blueprints, plans, and usage guidelines for all soil types found in Quebec were produced. As a result of this project, municipalities throughout Quebec now have access to a shoring system that protects workers performing public works in trenches.