The Region of Durham’s says its Cochrane Street bridge replacement project has won Good Roads’ 2023 Municipal Concrete Award.

The bridge in Whitby, Ont. crosses over the busy Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) Rail. The region identified the replacement as a priority because the original bridge was at the end of service life, and the need to provide transportation infrastructure that ensures effective asset management and improves active transportation.

The region says the bridge’s modern design has active transportation facilities for both cyclists and pedestrians to safely cross the rail corridor. Sidewalk and on-street bike lanes transition into a single three-metre-wide shared multi-use path on the bridge. The project involved complex work within a busy rail corridor. Construction was performed safely and finished on schedule at the end of 2023.

The Municipal Concrete Award, sponsored by Concrete Ontario, annually recognizes successful municipal-private sector collaborations in concrete road and bridge construction in Ontario. Criteria for the award considered conformance to specifications based on testing, aesthetics, workmanship, innovation and the method on how the work was completed, including public engagement.