Klahanie Float Replacement On Yellow Lake

A challenge well worth the final result

The scope for this work was to replace the existing float that is located on Yellow Lake. The reason for the replacement was due to deterioration of the old float; floatation was starting to fail and the beams were beginning to rot.

The challenges we faced during this project were both from a physical logistical challenge along with the political side, like the permitting process

The physical challenge was how to get the old float out and new float installed. At this location there was no boat launch and we had no access to have assistance from our barges and cranes. If we were to build the entire float onsite the crew members would have to be working off of floats and on their hands and knees for a much longer time that it would take to build into our shop. To solve this, we pre-fabricated this float in 4’x8’ sections. We then trucked the sections to the site where there is only a walking trail for access. Using a small excavator, we offloaded these prefabricated section on a system of rollers and lowered them down the dock and onto the float. The main walkway of the dock is sloped downhill so a series of pulleys were used to assist in the decent down onto the float. The new float was assembled next to the old failing float while using the old float as a work and staging platform during this construction. After the new float was assembled, we did the reverse order for removing the old float that was falling apart; we used the new float to work off of, we cut the float up into sections, pulled the sections up the dock walkway to the trail using rollers and mechanical advantages, then used the excavator to load the old dock into the upland recycling container.

The permitting process was difficult to complete as well. This process tool almost a year to obtain all the permits. We had to negotiate with the agencies and make some compromises. One of the things we had to do in order to get this approved was use light penetrating grating to allow the light to pass through the dock. This allows a surface that is less invasive to the environment. Another compromise we had to agree on was the reduction of the total square footage of the float. The agencies wanted to improve the current situation beyond installing the light penetrating grating, so reducing the float size by about 2 feet on both sides was what we agreed upon.