Richmond Olympic Speed Skating Oval

KWH was sub-contracted to erect the roof structure for the Olympic 2010 Speed Skating Oval. The defining challenge of this landmark project was the sixteen V-shaped glulam and steel composite arches — each spanning 105 metres, weighing 80 tons, and requiring intricate splice connections.

KWH pre-assembled two of the arch sections on the ground, then lifted and spliced them to each end section of the arch. These were erected first on modular shoring towers rated at 100,000 lbs per leg, then spliced together in the air with precise field connections.

KWH designed all specialized lifting and support devices to safely handle the delicate arch sections, engineering a custom solution for one of the most technically demanding structural steel installations in the region's history.