Changes in Bridge Engineering, and a New Bridge Over a Unesco World Heritage Site
CHANGES IN BRIDGE ENGINEERING, AND A NEW BRIDGE OVER A UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE William Victor Anderson, P.Eng., Executive Vice President, Delcan Sylvain Montminy, P.Eng., Division Manager, Delcan Abdol Nouraeyan, P.Eng., Program Manager, City of Ottawa Marcel Delph, P.Eng., Senior Project Manager, City of Ottawa Paper prepared for presentation at the STRUCTURES: BRIDGES IN A CLIMATE OF CHANGE Session of the 2009 Annual Conference of the Transportation Association of Canada Vancouver, British Columbia ABSTRACT Some 35 years ago the St. Patrick Street Bridge over the Rideau River in the City of Ottawa was replaced. It was proposed that the new bridge be an arch bridge, replacing the existing functionally obsolete multi-span concrete arch which had been at the site since the 1920s, but respectful of the heritage of the site and the crossing. However, in the then-prevailing climate of bridge design, a more conventional post-tensioned concrete multi-span slab bridge was selected for design, and it was constructed in 1975. It might be described as functional but perhaps uninspiring. Since then the steel box girder Hunt Club Bridge has been constructed over the Rideau River, and the Cummings Bridge has been rehabilitated, amongst other bridge works over the river. Similarly the Bank Street Arch Bridge and the Plaza Bridge over the Rideau Canal have been restored. As well, in the intervening years the Rideau Canal has now been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is on the National Register of Historic Sites in Canada. It is now proposed that another new bridge over the Rideau River and Rideau Canal be constructed near the south limit of the City.
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