GUELPH, ON
Emma to Earl Street Pedestrian Bridge
81m long pedestrian and cycling bridge across the Speed River Valley in Guelph, Ontario.
The Emma Street to Earl Street Pedestrian Bridge is an 81m long pedestrian and cycling bridge across the Speed River Valley in Guelph, Ontario.
The structure consists of parallel steel plate girders shaped to efficiently follow the flow of forces, including a unique stainless steel hinge at the midspan field splice, where the girders transition from below to above deck level. The deck is formed from precast concrete panels, allowing for rapid installation.
The project included public consultation and the on line review of three superstructure types with online comments as part of the decision making. This bridge crosses a naturally significant watercourse within an urban setting.
While the project had a limited budget, there were many engaged stakeholders and community members with a desire for a design that respected the natural beauty of the site. Through the Value Engineering workshop and community engagement process a design was developed with the client that achieved the right balance of economy, elegance and environmental protection.
This project included the delivery of the preliminary and detailed design of a new pedestrian crossing of the Speed River in the City of Guelph. The design team included a value engineering workshop with the client and design team in developing an improved concept from the original EA that eliminated a deflection in the alignment that provided improved safety Criminal Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles of sight lines through the entire project. Other key aspects were Facility Accessibility Design standards for lighting, materials and accommodating vulnerable users.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
CLIENT
City of Guelph
ARCHITECT
OUR ROLE(S)
Construction Engineering Consultant
SIZE
81m
BUDGET
$81M
MARKET (OFFICE)
TORONTO
Challenge One
A significant challenge for the project was a hard completion deadline, as the bridge creates an active transportation alternate route allowing full closure for rehabilitation of an adjacent road bridge.
Solution One
One way of responding to this schedule pressure would have been to resort to a standard prefab truss design. This would have resulted in less efficient material use and an inferior aesthetic design. The team’s construction engineering experience allowed us to develop a unique design without creating schedule risk. Additionally, it was challenging to demonstrate the high level of mitigation of natural vegetation in the corridor. The environmental plan included the planting of natural tree nuts along the up and downstream reaches (walnut, shaggy bark hickory and dark walnut) in addition to non-native plantings
adjacent to the bridge.
Another challenge was the integration of both natural paths along the river banks and intersection with a major MUP parallel to an a active railway on the west shore for movements of pedestrians and cyclists.
