Mosul Dam rehabilitation project named outstanding project award winner

The winner of Deep Foundations Institute’s 2022 Outstanding Project Award is the Mosul Dam Rehabilitation Project in Iraq, submitted by Trevi, S.p.A., the service foundation division of Trevi Group. The award will be presented at DFI’s 47th Annual Conference on Deep Foundations, October 4-7 in National Harbor, Md.

The Mosul Dam on the Tigris River dates to the 1980s and is the largest in Iraq at 113 m (371 ft) tall and 3.65 km (2.3 mi) long. Even during the construction phase, engineers were aware of the foundation’s weak rock, and contractors encountered cavities during excavation. Due to political and schedule pressures, the work continued. Despite extensive grouting efforts, water seepages started immediately after commissioning the dam.

In March 2016, Trevi took over the contract to perform maintenance grouting, along with training the owner’s personnel and rehabilitating the bottom outlet tunnels through electromechanical work and diving operations. From 2016 to 2019, Trevi completed about 403,000 linear m (1,322,178 lft) of grouted boreholes, injecting about 41,000 m3 (53,626 cu yd) of grout — equivalent to 26,700 tons of solids — into the ground. Trevi also created courses on modern equipment and techniques as part of its remit to engage and train the owner’s personnel.

Trevi carried out work at the dam, a mere 13 km (8 mi) away from the armed conflict against ISIS. Fortunately, the presence of the Coalition Forces, together with the Italian Army, guaranteed the required security of the project area. Notwithstanding the strict security procedures, the works proceeded expeditiously with no delays. The workforce numbered more than 700 and the project logged eight million man-hours worked without accidents.

Special recognition awards will be presented to three other projects: City Ridge Roadside Development in Washington, D.C., by Berkel & Company; Eglinton Crosstown LRT – Cedarvale Station in Toronto, by Isherwood Geostructural Engineers; and Harold Structures B/C Approach in Queens, New York, by Underpinning & Foundations Skanska.

Established in 1997, the OPA recognizes the superior work of DFI members. A committee selects the projects based on size, scope and challenges of the project; degree of innovation and ingenuity exercised; and uniqueness of the solution to the difficulties of the job.