The twinning of a QEW bridge spanning 30 metres high over Bronte Creek posed its greatest construction challenges during harsh winter conditions.
Infrastructure
1930 orginal to be torn down when twin opens
The twinning of a QEW bridge spanning 30 metres high over Bronte Creek posed its greatest construction challenges during harsh winter conditions.
“We were forming the deck by winter time and what made it challenging were the icy conditions and high winds,” notes Eddie Marin, Dufferin Construction central district manager. “In the end, we were very cautious and it all worked out and we are almost done.”
The bridge Dufferin has built is the modern-day twin of a bride built in the 1930s, which spans the creek right beside it. Once the new bridge is completed, it will accommodate traffic flow as the older bridge is demolished. The project is valued at over $11 million and has an expected completion date of this September.
Constructing the 175 metre bridge required Dufferin Construction to build another smaller bridge, earlier in construction, to help them build the new bridge from the ground up.
The new bridge’s four piers were poured in two stages followed by a pier-cap form and each pier took six weeks to do. The piers were built using a PERI formwork system.
“We originally did not plan on using the PERI form but they are lightweight forms and when we locked them into place, it worked real well,” explains Marin.
The new bridge required 55 pre-cast girders, with roughly 11 in each span and 5,000 cubic metres of concrete. The deck is 28 metres wide and 225 millimetres thick. Dufferin used 50 MPa high-performance concrete for the bridge’s abutments, piers, deck and pre-cast girders.
The new bridge’s arches are “very unique” and the overall look and work required to make the twinning happen has made it an interesting project to be involved in, adds Marin. The contract administrators for the project were URS Canada Inc.
Recent Comments
comments for this post are closed