Carleton wins Mike Sheflin student paper competition

Team Carleton won the Ontario Public Works Association (OPWA) Mike Sheflin Student Paper Competition held on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, with a project topic “All-Season Transportation Corridor Between Cochrane and Moose Factory”. At this annual event, Carleton University and University of Ottawa Civil Engineering students showcase their best efforts in the area of Public Works. This competition honours Mike Sheflin, who served as Commissioner of Public Works at the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton (renamed as the City of Ottawa). The Hunt Club Road Bridge across Rideau River is named after Mike Sheflin.”

The community of Moose Factory in Northeastern Ontario lacks adequate transportation access to more densely populated cities and towns within the region. Isolated on Moose Factory Island, there is currently no all-season transportation option for the community. Lack of convenient access to Moose Factory has resulted in a higher cost of living for those occupying the island. Moreover, problematic soils such as muskeg and the presence of permafrost between Cochrane and Moose Factory present inherent construction and design challenges. It was concluded that designing a highway between Cochrane and Moosonee and suggesting a bridge between Moosonee and Moose Factory would be the most feasible solution. Three separate conditions for the road embankment design were investigated and included soil profiles consisting of muskeg, permafrost, and stiff clay. Consolidation and slope stability analyses were performed for all design scenarios, while the road embankment over permafrost required a temperature distribution analysis due to the concern of permafrost thawing during increased temperature conditions due to climate change.

The members of the team are Marco Maggioni, Kelly Lowry, Killian Bell, Liam Sickinger, Davis Stambolich, and Ken Lemieux. The team was supervised by Professor Paul Simms.