December 2, 2018
The City of Toronto is working with Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) to design and construct a multi-use trail system within the East Don Corridor between the north end of Charles Sauriol Conservation Area, the Lower Don Trail System and the Gatineau Corridor Trail.
Supported by $23 million in federal funding, the East Don Trail Project is being built in a steep ravine area with limited access for heavy construction vehicles with CL625-ONT loading. Seven construction access stream crossings are required to carry out the project and Algonquin Bridge is supplying a series of rented Algonquin Modular Panel Bridge Systems to create them.
Hard-to-reach crossings needed a bridge that could be cantilever launched
The bridge systems are being ordered and delivered in a phased approach. To keep the contractor on schedule, the first bridge system was delivered within three weeks of the order. An Algonquin representative was on-site to help the crew plan the assembly in the most efficient manner in the limited space available.
That bridge had to be assembled perpendicular to its abutment on one side and then crane lifted into place. The site was immediately adjacent to the Don Valley Parkway. This all took place within one week.
The second bridge had enough space to be assembled in alignment with its crossing and was cantilever launched from one side with the push of an excavator. This assembly and launch sequence took two weeks.
Algonquin Bridge stocks a wide range of Algonquin Modular Panel Bridge components for both short- and long-term rentals anywhere in Canada. Due to the phased construction of this project, the bridge systems are being rented for periods ranging from four to 15 months.
This is not the first time that our rental bridges have been down in a valley providing construction access on a TRCA project. In 2017, one of our systems helped reach an inaccessible bank of the Humber River for an important erosion control and slope stabilization project.
