Glacier National Park - Trans Canada Highway

Avalanche Mitigation

Snownets installed by Dynamic Avalanche Consulting as avalanche protection on a snowy mountainside above the Trans Canada Highway in Glacier National Park
Client
McElhanney Consulting Services Ltd. (Owner: Parks Canada Agency, Highway Engineering Services)
Project Details

The Trans-Canada Highway Avalanche Mitigation Project for Glacier National Park( GNP) aimed to reduce avalanche risk to highway traffic, reduce closure time, and optimize the efficiency of avalanche risk management operations.

Challenges
  • Winter traffic averages 4000 vehicles per day which is exposed to 130 avalanche paths through the 40 km pass.
  • Environmental and cultural heritage required careful consideration for construction in the National Park.
  • A systematic evaluation of hazard and associated mitigation options was required to target priority projects.
  • New measures had would need to integrate seamlessly into the existing avalanche risk management operations.
Successes
  • A multiple account evaluation (MAE) approach was applied to systematically evaluate and rank mitigation options. This used the Avalanche Hazard Index, semi-quantitative metrics such as effects on existing operations and closures, and capital and operating costs.
  • Selected measures from the MAE were taken to conceptual design stages for review by stakeholders. Accepted designs were used as the basis for tenders.
  • Construction of new mitigation included:
    • 1,886 m of snow retention nets (right photo),
    • 13 remote avalanche control systems (RACS) construction,
    • An 18.5 m high retaining berm (top photo),
    • Installation of a comprehensive avalanche detection network consisting of 13 infrasound arrays and four radar units.
Snownets being installed in the summertime on mountain side in Glacier National Park.
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