AECOM wins design contract for Burlington Canal Lift Bridge
Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has awarded a contract to design for a new lift bridge across the Burlington Canal to AECOM Canada.
The federal department made the announcement on February 3. The $1.86-million contract sees the company develop the design for the new bridge deck at the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge.
AECOM will also restore the approach spans and widen the sidewalk areas to allow more space for pedestrians and cyclists to cross safely and also improve traffic flow.
The changes will improve the overall operations of the bridge, 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.
PSPC plans to award a construction contract by late summer 2022, with construction anticipated to begin in winter 2023, and completed by the third quarter of 2024.
"The Burlington Canal is an important route for both local and national transportation needs,” said PSPC Minister Filomena Tassi. “These improvements to the Burlington Lift Bridge will help educe gridlock, increase access for pedestrians and cyclists, and extend the lifespan of Bridge."
The Burlington Canal Lift Bridge is located on the western shore of Lake Ontario. The site has been home to five different moveable bridges, with the first dating as far back as 1830.
The bridge spans the width of the Burlington Canal, which itself opened in 1826. Once a narrow cut, the canal now provides Burlington Bay (Hamilton Harbour) with navigable access to the Atlantic Ocean.
The current bridge was opened in 1962 and carried two lanes of vehicular traffic across the canal. This structure was originally designed to carry train tracks for the Hamilton–Northwestern railway. The train tracks were removed in 1982 and the roadway widened to four lanes.
The bridge structure is a tower driven, vertical lift and moveable bridge. The lift span is 116 metres long, 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 over 400,000 vessels. Annually, the bridge will operate approximately 4,000 times, allowing approximately 6,500 vessels to pass through the canal. This also includes more than 1,000 large cargo-carrying vessels.