Green Creek Bridge

The Green Creek Bridge project involved the assembly and erection of a single-span steel truss for a multi-user pathway (MUP) bridge over the creek. This project is a part of the broader Confederation Line Stage 2 project (OLRT extension), which expands Ottawa's light rail network to the East. As part of the OLRT extension, pedestrian bridges have been installed at various locations, such as Green’s Creek, Place d’Orléans Station, and Trim Station. These bridges enhance connectivity to the future OLRT stations. The bridge is a 39m long Algonquin steel truss bridge that features a 4.7m wide truss supporting a 4.2m clear multi-user pathway.

Steel Erected: A single truss span weighing 36MT was erected.

Erection Methodology: The truss span was delivered in two equal halves for on-site splicing. They were lifted from the delivery truck and placed on temporary supports for splicing on the west bank, south of the west abutment. Eight temporary supports were set to specific elevations to facilitate splicing and account for truss pre-camber. Once connected, the full truss span was lifted by an LTM 1400 from the staging location to its permanent position. A 50' long spreader bar was used to connect the rigging, lifting the truss at four points located on the bottom chord of the truss.

Project Challenges: The project faced challenges due to the west bank's limited space and dramatic slope towards the creek. Despite these constraints, this location was chosen as the preferred site for the truss delivery, staging, and erection. The crane was placed north of the west abutment and required careful positioning to ensure both lifts could be accomplished from this single location. Significant coordination was necessary among the general contractor, erector, and construction engineer to finalize the crane's location and orientation. This was essential to perform the necessary lifts within capacity limits and site constraints. The general contractor had to extend the bank next to the east outriggers to keep the lift limits within a 90-foot radius. They also conducted a geotechnical assessment to ensure the stability of the bank slope and the integrity of the west abutment from the pressures exerted by the crane outriggers.