Delivering Life-Safety Ventilation for a Major North American Underwater Highway Crossing

A prestigious infrastructure project in North America is transforming a critical coastal corridor by constructing a new two-lane tunnel parallel to an existing underwater highway crossing. The expansion is designed to improve traffic flow, enhance safety, and ensure long-term reliability, while modernizing approach roadways, interchanges, and supporting infrastructure.

Ventilating a Critical Coastal Corridor

Among the many life-safety systems integrated into this project, advanced reversible jet fans were required to provide reliable ventilation, ensure emergency smoke extraction, and maintain performance under extreme environmental conditions. Woods Air Movement supplied 1.6m stainless steel jet fans specifically engineered to meet these demanding requirements, complying fully with Buy America standards.

What We Supplied

The project demanded high-performance, fully bespoke jet fans with precise engineering specifications:

Diameter: 1600mm
Length: Over 10m (30 ft)
Power & Performance: 100 HP, fully reversible impeller, thrust of 500 lbf
Construction: 100% stainless steel, including fan housing, motor shafts, cast 316 SS blades, and precision-machined hubs

Each unit was supplied with the full accessory package and engineered to meet stringent operational and safety standards for life-safety applications.

Rigorous In-House Testing

To ensure the fans could perform reliably in this critical infrastructure, Woods carried out a comprehensive testing program, including:

Thrust performance tests to AMCA Standard 250
Overspeed reversal testing
Vibration testing to AMCA Standard 204
Acoustic noise testing to IEEE 85
Elevated high-temperature testing, including mid-operation reversals
24-hour mechanical run-in with attributes recorded every 30 minutes

Engineering Collaboration and Impact

The project presented new engineering challenges, and the Woods team demonstrated exceptional teamwork, innovation, and ambition. By combining meticulous design, precise manufacturing, and rigorous testing, the jet fans are ready to be installed in a critical life-safety application, providing reliable ventilation and ensuring compliance with the customer’s specifications.

This project highlights Woods’ global capability, engineering excellence, and commitment to supporting complex infrastructure with safe, high-performance ventilation solutions.

2026-03-13