The existing bridge collapsed in February during widespread heavy rains and flooding across the south-western part of the province.
Acrow Bridge has designed and provided the modular structure for use during the reconstruction of the bridge on Imperial Road/County Road 73 in Port Bruce. The Port Bruce Bridge is the only direct route over Catfish Creek, which divides the north and south sides of the small town on the shores of Lake Erie. The collapse resulted in a 5km detour.
The Acrow bridge was purchased by Elgin County, which anticipates reusing it for future projects. The single-lane span is 54.8m long and 5.5m wide with an epoxy aggregate anti-skid coated steel deck and a CL-625 ONT Truck load rating per the Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code.
Construction of the temporary bridge began in early July and the bridge opened to traffic this week. It is expected to be in place for two years while the permanent structure is built.
Spriet Associates of London, Ontario, is the design engineer for the project and the contractor is Maclean Taylor Construction of St Marys, Ontario.
