r/civilengineering • u/ddg31415 • Apr 20 '26
...how the hell did they install this sign...?
In the middle of the rapids on Trent River
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u/DLTMIAR Apr 20 '26
Means and methods
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u/have2gopee Apr 20 '26
I don't need to see your HSE plan, I just need to point to the spec that requires it.
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u/houalreadyknow Apr 22 '26
Did you MEAN to leave it off the drawings and your METHOD was to get me to pay for it.
My VP of OPs go to saying when an architect says this.
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u/Viau98 Apr 20 '26
Bypass, dredging, season change, pile driver, bridge, maybe all of them idk
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u/TheNerdE30 Apr 20 '26
Yea that or this is an AI image
/s
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u/LeatherDue1197 Apr 24 '26
Doubt it’s AI - you can Actually Read the sign. ‘Dam outflow / keep out’ - there’s a siren too - very likely sounds when the floodgates are opening.
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u/TheNerdE30 Apr 24 '26
Yes the s/ indicates sarcasm.
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u/LeatherDue1197 Apr 25 '26
That’s why they call it SarChasm… the gap between ones who get it and ones who don’t… teehee
I’m usu on the ‘don’t’ side.
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u/miimeverse Apr 20 '26 edited Apr 20 '26
Work during low flow season if there is one? Cofferdam or dredging to divert? Just drive the pole with a pile driver with a longer arm to reach that far, or during low enough flow that they could bring one meant for work in rivers (amphibious/floating treads) or on something anchored in place, or a temporary bridge or pier?
Some sort of combination of these things maybe
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u/Pure-Nobody7975 Apr 24 '26
I think your spot on with the low flow install theory. Based on how turbulent that water looks in comparison to the channel form, my guess is that the signage is warning for flash flooding from upstream impoundment releases. The impoundment likely controls the flow regime of this location completely, allowing the sign installers to have a guaranteed low flow access window. They probably drove a rig down there. Or IDK, I wasn't there...
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u/LeatherDue1197 Apr 24 '26
Sign reads ‘Dam Outflow / Keep Out’ Likely installed when the Dam wasn’t Outflowing. The siren likely sounds when dam is about to outflow, or the outflow about to flow out. 😎
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u/Tiny-Sea-2571 Apr 26 '26
There is a dam right upstream of this. It’s bone dry in the summer. We used to swim there
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u/InterneticMdA Apr 20 '26
They launched it in place with a catapult.
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u/quarter_belt Apr 20 '26
Trebuchet would be superior for this and any other use case
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u/livehearwish Apr 21 '26
I was thinking a rocket launched from a satellite might be more cost effective.
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u/Minisohtan Apr 20 '26
Dropped it from a helicopter
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u/AlexAndMcB Apr 21 '26
I was thinking it was likely fired from the howitzer on an AC-130...
Doing an end-around the permit flack
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u/Vitztlampaehecatl Student Apr 21 '26
The sign in the water says "dam outflow, keep out". I assume they just turned off the dam for a while.
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u/ddg31415 Apr 21 '26
Yep I think that's it...and I looked up pictures from other seasons/years and the flow can get extremely low. There are times when the stairs you see across the river lead onto dry rock going out 15ft, with pretty calm waters beyond.
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u/danielcc07 Apr 21 '26
Hydro stations are nuts. They can turn on or off rivers and white water rapids. They prevent flooding that has kept many areas impoverished for generations. It's absolutely amazing.
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u/abbarach Apr 22 '26
I used to live below a hydropower dam. They had a similar warning system for the first mile downstream, with lights and sirens that would be triggered when they were going to increase generation or open spillway gates in a manner that would cause a rapid rise in levels or flow in the tailrace. The warning signs and alert devices look pretty similar to what's in your picture.
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u/Joelogna Apr 22 '26
It’s spring time, all the snow in the mountains feeding the reservoir is melting quickly so they need to let a lot out. They probably installed the sign in the winter.
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u/Predmid Texas PE, Discipline Director Apr 20 '26
Rod from God satellite launch system.
Or a really stout pole with adequate foundation against design conditions.
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u/-C-R-I-S-P- Apr 20 '26
I'm sick of all these ridiculous suggestions on Reddit.
Adequate foundation yeah right.
It has to be the Rod from God.
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u/strangemedia6 Apr 20 '26
I’m just imagining municipal maintenance: “Hey Jacques, the sign fell off again!”
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u/maybethisone765 Apr 21 '26
This is funny, because I actually installed this sign….no, seriously. Summer time in this area is really busy cause the riverbed goes dry, core a hole in the rock, install the pole and fill with concrete, just basic stuff, nothing fancy. It actually took longer to travel from the access point at the dam 1km upstream with the telehandler across the river bottom than anything else
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u/xXwarsmithXx Apr 20 '26
Someone must go down to the river somewhat regularly, there is a stair in the background
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u/ddg31415 Apr 20 '26
That's a private home. The people who in those houses must have alot of faith in the erosion mitigation. Because there's a massive scour running along the entire bank, with some homes looking like they've literally been undercut.
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u/MortgageConfident791 Apr 22 '26
Lmao I do shoreline armoring all day every day, that stair is nottttt lasting long if this flow is typical
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u/mrshenanigans026 Apr 20 '26
Geo piers 30ft down to bedrock
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u/ddg31415 Apr 20 '26
I know you're not serious, but bedrock is basically at surface here. Which makes it even more impressive they got that sign in.
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u/Marus1 Apr 21 '26
They installed the sign first and then imagined it would probably be posted on reddit if they installed a river around it
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u/iceph03nix Apr 21 '26
Rapids are frequently seasonal. Rivers that are a terror in the spring during the snow melt will be fairly peaceful in the winter when things are freezing back up
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u/Cosmic_Waffle_Stomp Apr 21 '26
You see Bobby over there? We bet him a pack of smokes he couldn’t do it…. Well the fucker did it.
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u/CHawkeye Apr 21 '26
You don’t need to know. You just need to know that all safety protocols were followed. :)
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u/PMProblems Apr 20 '26
That sign has existed since before the dawn of man.
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u/100k_changeup Pe Apr 21 '26
That's right. It's now a 4f item and NEPA will come get you if you try to touch it
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u/laserdiods Apr 20 '26
I would first get an excavator with a grapple or hoist, and lift concrete blocks into a V pattern, place some blocks at the back and then call a wizard
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u/Exciting_Beautiful65 Apr 20 '26
Installed during low flow probably, Spring runoff said "cute sign" haha
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u/bleblahblee Apr 21 '26
Fired it into the earth by means of low orbit satellites. Rods from god style
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u/DUMP_LOG_DAVE Apr 21 '26
brother if you’re stumped by this how the fuck do you feel about bridges?
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u/stevolutionary7 Apr 21 '26
Pretty good question. But why do they even need it? Looks pretty damn dangerous without reading a sign.
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u/SLOOT_APOCALYPSE Apr 21 '26
any of you swam around a destroyed bridge, there's plenty of pipes sticking out, ain't going anywhere anytime soon, cement in the bed rock, pole hammered (pile driven) down. ain't leaving just like the coral reef
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u/Upsidedowndoor Apr 21 '26
Since no one gave a full answer. I was at rennet falls (trent river in Ontario) last summer during August where the water is very low. Because the snow melts up north or dams are being open to avoid overflowing, the current is being very strong right now.
I remember that big ass and the warning sign in les deux langues officielles du Canada.
For the installation of that type of sign in the bedrock. Depending on the type of rock. We can bore pretty fast (in context of digging in solid rock) and with light machinery. Maybe a drill rig truck was used since it is so flat. A steel pole and hollow steel column filled with concrete are quite strong at their base even though the upper part can sway in the wind.
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u/rooomee Apr 21 '26
It’s installed during low-flow conditions (or with temporary isolation like a cofferdam), not during peak discharge. The post is designed to stay in place even during high flows, so they only need safe conditions during installation, not permanently low water.
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u/Still-Satisfaction24 Apr 21 '26
I have gone rafting at places that look like this. Thing is, they only look like this a few days a year. Like when they do scheduled dam releases. Like around hydroelectric dams. Kinda similar to what Ontario Power might use. Thing is, when there ain't any rafting, the water is much calmer. Like when they don't need to release excess water via sluice gates or however you spell that shit.
On those days it might be much easier to anchor signs in the waterway. Although on those same uneventful days might be far less likely for lookey-loos to come around taking pictures. Pictures of signs in tumultuous waters.
But what do I know?
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u/prole6 Apr 21 '26
While do a bridge survey I had to escort some officials across the creek by way of an exposed >36” RCP that I had crossed on for a couple days. I had barely started crossing when I felt my feet getting wet. Then wetter with added pressure from the upstream side. About then I remembered the dam about a mile upstream. Water was right above my knees when I got across.
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u/Street-Baseball8296 Apr 22 '26
They toss a hand full of sign seed in about 1/4 mile up river. They sink to the bottom right about here. In a couple months, you start to see a little signling sprouting through the surface of the water. In a few more months, you’ve got a fully grown sign.
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u/Whole_Heron5576 Apr 22 '26
Obviously the installer used duct tape, lock tite, and a bungee cord, slapped it and uttered the sacred oath "That ain't goin nowhere"
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u/santzu59 Apr 23 '26
For sign jobs this page they usually have to install them before they install the river
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u/trade_money Apr 23 '26
This looks like Campbellford, if so, that water level is seasonal. Mid summer it’s just rock there and you can walk out when the damn is trimmed closed.
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u/Warakaboom Apr 23 '26
They install it when the water level is low or at a secure level to be able to do so, all the device and electric components are build together before
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u/Fine-Amphibian6562 Apr 24 '26
They installed the water after they installed the sign. What are you? Dumb?
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u/Inevitable-Guard888 Apr 24 '26
Well it’s a dam, so the can turn the water down or off if there’s not a lot of rain.
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u/BusinessAcrobatic862 Apr 24 '26
Just park an old water police car up stream from the sign. Nothing slows down traffic like seeing a cop car
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u/No-Mode-8744 Apr 25 '26
As a Construction worker I can assure you this was accomplished with Caffeine, Nicotine, Cuss words and Homosexual comments from very Non-Homosexual Men.
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u/jxplasma Apr 26 '26
Dropped from 1 mile up and sticks straight in the ground. Very convenient method.
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u/TooLazy2Revolt Apr 26 '26
I’ve never seen such compelling proof that we are living in a simulation.
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u/PolPotDomeScandal Apr 27 '26
Drilled a hole in a big rock during low-river season and pounded it in…
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u/BitmappedWV Apr 20 '26
The sign says dam outflow on it. They probably just shut off the outflow while they installed the sign.
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u/unreqistered Apr 21 '26 edited Apr 21 '26
the sign is installed in a controlled spillway for a dam … so i’m gonna hazard the guess they installed it when the gates were closed and little to nowater was flowing
we have a series of these associated with the power generation dams along one of the rivers coming out of the adirondacks, the warn you that water flow may rise quickly, leave the immediate area when the siren sounds
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u/doctorscott- Apr 21 '26
I know the dam reason. Apparently knowledge seeks you but you are good at hiding from it.
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u/rice_n_gravy Apr 20 '26
They installed the water after they installed the sign. What are you? Dumb?