Nipigon River Bridge
| Nipigon River Bridge (2015) | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 49°01′11″N 88°15′01″W / 49.0196°N 88.2504°WCoordinates: 49°01′11″N 88°15′01″W / 49.0196°N 88.2504°W |
| Carries | 2 lanes of Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 11 / Highway 17) |
| Crosses | Nipigon River |
| Locale | Nipigon, Ontario |
| Maintained by | Ministry of Transportation of Ontario |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cable-stayed |
| Total length | 252 metres (827 ft)[1] |
| Width | 37 metres (121 ft)[2] |
| Height | 75 metres (246 ft)[2] |
| Number of spans | 2 |
| History | |
| Architect | Marshall Macklin Monaghan (MMM) |
| Constructed by | Bot Construction and Ferrovial Agroman |
| Construction begin | 2013 |
| Construction end | 2017 (estimated) |
| Construction cost | $106 million |
| Opened | November 29, 2015 (westbound bridge) |
| Replaces | Nipigon River Bridge (1937, 1972) |
  Nipigon River Bridge Location in Ontario | |
The Nipigon River Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge carrying Ontario Highway 11 and Ontario Highway 17, designated as part of the Trans-Canada Highway, across the Nipigon River near Nipigon, Ontario, Canada.
A road bridge was built at the site in 1937, parallel to an existing Canadian Pacific Railway bridge. The two-lane span later became the narrowest point on the Trans-Canada Highway and was known for being a traffic bottleneck.
A $106 million project to replace the bridge with two parallel spans carrying 4 total lanes began in 2013 as part of a region-wide project to widen the Trans-Canada Highway to 4 lanes; the cable-stayed designs for the twin bridges was to be the first of its kind in Ontario. The future westbound bridge opened on November 29, 2015; both directions of traffic were shifted onto the new bridge to prepare the old span for demolition. The eastbound span is scheduled for completion in 2017.[3][4]
Closure of new bridge
On January 10, 2016, the new bridge was closed to traffic after an expansion joint on the deck was lifted by 60 centimetres (24 in) after a winter storm,[5] resulting in the indefinite closure of the Trans-Canada Highway at the bridge.[6][7][8] As the bridge is a single point of failure in Canada's National Highway System, its closure effectively required vehicles travelling between Eastern and Western Canada to detour through the United States.[6] The deputy mayor of Greenstone, located 125 kilometres (78 mi) northeast of the bridge, declared a state of emergency for the municipality as a result of the closure.[8][9]
The bridge was partially reopened to traffic the following morning after 17 hours of closure, using one lane alternating between directions. The Ministry of Transportation inspected the bridge for further damage and determined that it would be able to handle cars and regular-weight transport trucks in the interim. 200 metric tons (200 long tons; 220 short tons) of concrete jersey barriers were placed to weigh down the deck.[10][11]
It is estimated that over $100 million of goods shipped within Canada on trucks are being delayed by the bridge closure.[12]
References
- ↑ "Nipigon River Bridge: Creating Ontario’s First Cable-Stayed Bridge". Hatch Mott MacDonald. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- 1 2 O'Reilly, Dan (February 27, 2015). "New Nipigon River bridge a trailblazing project". Daily Commercial News. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Ontario Reaches Milestone in Construction of Nipigon River Bridge" (Press release). Ministry of Northern Development and Mines. November 27, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Traffic flows across new Nipigon bridge". The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay, Ontario). November 29, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ↑ Hasham, Alyshah (January 10, 2016). "Trans-Canada Highway bridge linking east and west partially reopened". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- 1 2 "New Nipigon Bridge crippled". The Chronicle-Journal (Thunder Bay, Ontario). January 10, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Bridge closure blocks Trans-Canada highway; main way to cross Canada by car now through U.S.". National Post. January 10, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- 1 2 Husser, Amy (January 10, 2016). "Ontario's Nipigon River bridge fails, severing Trans-Canada Highway". CBC News (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Greenstone Declares State of Emergency" (Press release). Office of the Deputy Mayor of Greenstone. January 10, 2016. Retrieved January 10, 2016.
- ↑ "Ontario's Nipigon River Bridge opens to 1 lane after piece of decking lifts". CBC News (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- ↑ McQuigge, Michelle (January 11, 2016). "Northern Ontario’s Nipigon River Bridge partially reopens to traffic". Global Television Network (Global News). Retrieved January 13, 2016.
- ↑ "Nipigon River Bridge delays slow $100M of goods shipped daily". CBC News (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation). January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 13, 2016.