VIDEO: Latest high-rise comes without all the noise and jarring vibration of steel pilings

It's called a continuous flight auger pile, and anyone living near the newest high-rise construction site in Kelowna should be glad it's here.

A massive drill rig is creating the pilings by digging 52 metres into the ground with a supply of concrete at its core.

"As that auger comes back out," explained Luke Turri from the Mission Group, "it's replacing that hole with concrete."

And those concrete piles replace the steel piles that people have been used to seeing at construction sites in recent years.

"Traditional methods certainly support the buildings," said Turri, "but it can be really disruptive when you're hammering in the piles into the ground."

The Mission Group has contracted the work to Soletanche Bachy Canada.

The method is considered safer and it uses more local materials, but what the public will notice most is that it will be several magnitudes quieter.

"It causes a lot less vibration and noise and general disruption for the surrounding neighbourhood," added Turri.

There were numerous complaints about noise, vibration and even property damage during construction on the first phase of Mission Group's Bernard Block, so the steel pilings will not be missed.

The work on the Mission Group's Bernard Block will be record-setting.

"The continuous flight auger piles that we're doing here at 170 ft are the deepest that we're aware of in Canada and actually the second deepest in North America," he said.

Turri wouldn't speculate on what other builders will do, but his company believes it's onto something with this method.

"Certainly for our projects, we'll see the continuous flight auger pile as something we'll use for future projects in the downtown area," he said.

"I don't think we'll be using steel pilings any longer."

Bertram Bernard Block tower is expected to be complete in 2023.