Alexandra Bridge Rehabilitation

Lane Closures

For advance notice of lane closures on the Alexandra Bridge, please refer to the Canada News Centre's Media Advisory page.

Information on upcoming lane closures will also be provided to local media via public notices.

Background

Alexandra Bridge, also known as the Interprovincial Bridge, links Sussex Drive in Ottawa to Boulevard Saint-Laurent in Gatineau. It provides a link between the tourist attractions of the Byward Market, Rideau Street area and the Museum of Civilization. The structure has been designated by the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers as a "National Historic Civil Engineering Site." The bridge is owned by the government of Canada and maintained by Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC).

Traffic Volume

The Alexandra Bridge presently carries 10% of the interprovincial bridge traffic within the National Capital Region with approximately 15,000 vehicles per day crossing the bridge. The bridge also carries 1,300 cyclists and 2,000 pedestrians per day, the highest use of all interprovincial bridges by cyclists and pedestrians.

Planned Rehabilitation

Comprehensive detailed inspections, done every two years, along with ongoing maintenance have ensured the safety of this centenarian bridge. Built in 1900, the bridge underwent a major rehabilitation in 1975, when all deck areas were replaced to accommodate the present lane arrangements and configuration. The bridge was repainted in 1995. While it has received ongoing maintenance to extend its service life, it is now in need of major rehabilitation and upgrades.

The conceptual and preliminary designs for the rehabilitation of the bridge were developed in 2005 and the detailed design was completed in early 2008. Construction funding and project approval were granted in November 2007. Public tendering of the project took place from July to September 2008.

A contract was awarded in February 2009 to Pomerleau Inc. of Montreal for the rehabilitation activities below.

The planned rehabilitation will:

• strengthen and retrofit the steel structure and piers and increase their seismic capacity;
• replace the 575-metre-long centre lane concrete deck and guardrails;
• replace the wooden boardwalk and railings;
• install inspection walkways; and
• install damping mechanisms to address the vibration of the structure.

The site supervision will be done by McCormick Rankin Corporation.

Studies and Design

PWGSC initiated a planning study and subsequent detail design for the rehabilitation of the Alexandra Bridge. PWGSC retained a consultant-engineering firm to provide the services for this assignment, which included the initial planning study, environmental assessment, construction and traffic staging analysis, detail design and construction administration services.

Environmental Considerations

The project was assessed under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and an Environmental Screening Report has been prepared. The report concluded that the proposed project is not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects and recommended that the project proceed as planned, provided PWGSC ensures the implementation of appropriate mitigation measures described in the report.

Traffic Working Group

Various traffic and construction staging scenarios were analyzed using a specific traffic working group to ensure traffic disruption during construction is reasonable. The results from these analyses were presented at a public information meeting on June 13, 2005.

Options Considered for Works Staging

Various vehicular, pedestrian and cyclist traffic management scenarios during the construction period were considered, such as:

1. boardwalk open, northbound and southbound vehicle lanes closed;
2. boardwalk open and maintain all vehicular lanes open on bridge (night-time work for deck replacement);
3. maintain boardwalk and one lane of traffic in southbound direction at all times;
4. maintain boardwalk and one lane of traffic in northbound direction at all times;
5. maintain boardwalk and two-way traffic on single lane using traffic signals;
6. maintain boardwalk and one lane of traffic alternating in direction (southbound in the morning and northbound in the afternoon); and
7. total bridge closure.

Scenario 6 is preferred by PWGSC because of its minimal impact on traffic as identified in the traffic modelling studies. It is also supported by traffic management groups, users, businesses, institutions and the cities, because the selected materials can lead to a centre lane deck replacement in a shorter period of about four months.

The initiative is a coordinated effort between traffic control and traffic advisory groups from Ottawa and Gatineau. The public will be given advance notice of all closures and lane reductions to allow them to plan alternative routes.

Proposed Schedule of Works and Anticipated Traffic Changes

The construction work is scheduled to start in spring 2009 with a fall 2011 completion date. Work will be undertaken in the summer of 2009 on the reinforcement of the main piers and the steel structure. This will create some lane closures at night and between rush hours during the day from April to November 2009.

From April 2010 to the end of July 2010, the centre lane deck (Ottawa-bound) will be replaced. This will create a complete closure of the centre lane deck for 17 weeks and occasional closures of the remaining Gatineau-bound lane at night. During the centre lane construction, the remaining lane will be used in general for traffic going to Ottawa, except between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays (Monday to Friday) where it will reverse direction and be used for traffic toward Gatineau to accomodate the afternoon rush hour coming from Ottawa. The replacement of the pedestrian boardwalks will be done in spring 2011 and phased so that users have continuous access. The passage of cyclists and pedestrians will be maintained at all times, but at times on a reduced width.

Feedback and Contacts

All comments received during the public information meeting, from the Traffic Working Group and through the environmental assessment process, were considered and addressed in the Environmental Assessment Report and in the planning of the project.

If you would like to obtain more information, please contact Real Property.