Queensway Bridge replacement a “rapid replacement” project

By Travis Poland

A major infrastructure project in central Ottawa will be using a “rapid replacement” construction method similar to one employed before the recent Miami pedestrian bridge disaster, but officials say the well-proven approach to modernizing aging overpasses prioritizes public safety and will minimize disruption.

The public has until the end of April to offer feedback on plans to replace the Highway 417 bridge crossing the O-Train Trillium Line a half-block west of Preston Street in the southwest corner of Centretown.

Construction is expected to start sometime this spring and last until next summer when the bridge is replaced, Peter Freure, a senior engineer with Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation, told Centretown News via email.

The project will periodically disrupt both car traffic and public transit.

When the project begins, one lane of Highway 417 in each direction will be closed. Lane reductions are expected on weekends and during the night as the project — which begins with the construction of the new bridge in a staging area adjacent to existing bridge — continues.

In 2019, when the new bridge is lifted into place in the culmination of the “rapid replacement” method, a section of highway from Carling Avenue to Bronson Avenue in the eastbound direction and from Parkdale Avenue to Bronson Avenue in the westbound direction will be closed for three days over the course a weekend, according to a Ministry of Transportation report on the project prepared by the consulting firm WSP.

The O-Train will be closed twice for three weeks during the two-year project. The closures are expected to happen during the summer when fewer people use the O-Train, said Chris Swail, Ottawa’s director of O-Train planning.

Those who drive and use public transit are not the only ones who will be detoured during construction. The project will reroute the Trillium Multi-use Pathway that runs alongside the O-Train tracks. Cyclists and pedestrians will be detoured along Louisa, Preston and Young streets, and a separate cycle track will be installed on the west side of Preston Street, the report states.

The project uses a construction method known as rapid bridge replacement, which falls under the broad umbrella of accelerated bridge construction.

The construction involves building a temporary culvert over the O-Train allowing work to continue without continually interrupting the train. Then, new bridge decks will be built beside the current bridge before the it’s demolished and the new decks are lifted into place in a short period of time with hydraulic jacks, Freure said.

Freure said rapid replacement has become the preferred method for bridges along the 417 in Ottawa because it reduces traffic problems and complex detours and it’s a relatively quick process compared to traditional replacement methods that can take two to three construction seasons.

In 2016, an average of 184,000 vehicles used the bridge every day, according to the city’s traffic data.  It was built in 1962 and last renovated in 1984.

Multiple Ottawa highway bridges have been replaced using the rapid replacement over the past decade, including the bridges at Clyde Avenue, Kirkwood Avenue, Kent Street, Island Park Drive, and Carling Avenue east and west, according to the report.

Accelerated bridge construction was also used in erecting a pedestrian bridge that later collapsed at Florida International University in Miami. Six people died after the bridge fell onto the open highway below. The cause of the collapse is still under investigation.

Freure said safety standards are high and he is not expecting any changes to the construction process in Ottawa following the Miami incident.

“Safety is our number one priority. All of our planning and construction methods and standards are implemented to ensure the safety of workers, motorists and the general public,” he said.

When asked about the project’s cost, Freure said the contract will soon be going to tender and “sharing an estimated cost at this point would impede on a fair and open procurement process.”

For more information on the bridge replacement project or to submit feedback visit: https://www.highway417cpr-otrainbridges.com/home.html.