Acrow bridge installed in days over Thessalon River
Modular-bridge engineers Acrow announced on August 15 that one of their products was recently installed over the Thessalon River in the community of Rydal Bank, east of Sault Ste. Marie.
The project called for the replacement of the aging single-lane Thessalon River Bridge on Highway 638. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation called for the new structure to accommodate two lanes of traffic, and the bridge was installed by The Miller Group.
Although situated in a remote area, the bridge provides access for emergency vehicles, so a short construction time was considered critical. The bridge was to be closed for no longer than 15 days. In addition, the work site had an extremely limited footprint. Steep slopes on both sides of the east bridge approach prohibited its use as a temporary laydown area, so components were shipped to a nearby quarry pit where, after sorting, they were transported by truck to the construction site.
After site preparation including earthworks, foundation, unloading and preassembly of the bridge’s truss panels, the old bridge was removed, and assembly of the new bridge began on June 21. It was installed seven days later using a full cantilever launch, and jacked down onto its bearings, from a height of more than two metres, on June 30, opening to traffic on July 2.
“Acrow’s cost-effective Delta system provided the perfect solution to this project with extremely limited access and a tight installation timeframe,” said Betul Oliver, Acrow Canada’s Business Development Manager, Eastern Canada. “The speed of installation avoided the need for a detour structure, and kept the project on schedule and within budget.”