AECOM wins bid for Burlington Canal Lift Bridge
By Adam Freill
Bridges Construction InfrastructureCompany to develop design plan for the new bridge deck.
Kitchener, Ontario’s AECOM Canada Ltd. has been awarded a contract worth $1.86 million to develop the design for the new bridge deck at the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge in Burlington, Ont.
Filomena Tassi, Minister of Public Services and Procurement, made the announcement late this week. According to the contract, AECOM will design and replace the lift span’s bridge deck, restore the approach spans and widen the sidewalk areas to allow more space for pedestrians and cyclists to cross safely and improve traffic flow.
It is expected that the changes will improve the overall operations of the bridge, provide safe use, and extend and maximize the life of the bridge by approximately 50 years for both the deck and sidewalk, and around 30 years for the approaches.
The current bridge opened in 1962 and carried two lanes of vehicular traffic across the canal. The structure was originally designed to carry train tracks for the Hamilton-Northwestern railway, but the train tracks were removed in 1982 and the roadway widened to four lanes.
A tower-driven, vertical lift and moveable bridge, the lift spans 116 metres, weighs 1,996 tons, and has a vertical lift of 33.5 metres. Since its installation, the bridge has been operated more than 200,000 times, allowing the passage of more than 400,000 vessels.
“The Burlington Canal is an important route for both local and national transportation needs,” stated Tassi. “These improvements to the Burlington Lift Bridge will help reduce gridlock, increase access for pedestrians and cyclists, and extend the lifespan of Bridge.”
Public Services and Procurement Canada plans to award a construction contract by late summer 2022, with construction anticipated to begin in 2023 and a completion target of summer/fall 2024.
