Steel girders buckle badly on Edmonton 102 Avenue bridge
March 31, 2015
By CCE
City of Edmonton engineers are hoping that they can reopen a major traffic artery, Groat Road, by April 7 as work continues to try and stabilize the girders of a bridge being built to cross overhead on 102 Avenue.
On March 16 during overnight construction, four out of seven steel girders being installed buckled badly. Photographs show them twisted by many inches into an S-shape.
The contractor brought in cranes to carry the weight of the structure while it installed bracing and put the seventh girder in place to stabilize the structure. So far no-one knows why the girders buckled.
The new structure has a clear span of 100 metres, replacing an existing bridge that dates from 1910 and is being demolished. The project is budgeted to cost $32 million and is due to open in the fall of 2015. Graham Construction is the contractor, and according to an article in the Edmonton Sun, AECOM and Supreme Steel are involved.
The girders have been gradually straightening themselves, but it is unknown at this stage whether they can be salvaged or by how long the problems will slow progress on the project.
Meanwhile city traffic on Groat Road, which carries approximately 42,000 vehicles per weekday, is being diverted.
Click here for information on the City of Edmonton web site.
Click here for the article in the Edmonton Sun
