Adra Tunnel - Terrestrial LiDAR Scan

2022 | Penticton, BC

The Adra Tunnel is part of the Kettle Valley Railway (KVR) corridor that links Myra Canyon above Kelowna to Penticton. The Railway was built over 100 years ago and is considered an Engineering marvel of its time. The Railway was decommissioned in the 1980s and is now popular with Recreation users and part of the TransCanada Trail system. The Adra Tunnel has been closed to the public for two decades due to various areas of failure and rock falls. McElhanney was approached by a community group wanting to safely re-open the Tunnel to the public.   

McElhanney provided a terrestrial LiDAR scan of the entire Adra Tunnel, approximately 500m in length, allowing geotechnical engineers to determine where rock bolting or other stability measures were needed throughout the length of the tunnel, to make safe for public use.  

Through the McElhanney Cares Program, the Penticton branch donated 50 % of project fees back to the Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen towards the community goal of re-opening the Tunnel to the public.  

 McElhanney provided: 

  • Conventional total station traverses through the tunnel to establish survey control  
  • Terrestrial LiDAR scan of entire tunnel 
  • LiDAR scan data was georeferenced and at true geodetic elevation. 
Person in safety vest walking out of underground tunnel towards a wintery forest.
Total station in underground tunnel
Categories: British Columbia, Cities & Communities, Geotechnical, LiDAR scan, McElhanney Cares

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