Spanks River Bridge
Location: Guysborough County, NS
Client: NS Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
Duration: 2008
Approximate Value: $1.5M
Key Staff: Robbie Fraser, Greg MacDonald
Project Description
In 2008, a single lane aging through truss bridge was damaged by a snowplough in rural Nova Scotia. Due to the condition of the existing structure, it necessitated rapid replacement.
Harbourside’s Role
Harbourside undertook the design of the new bridge structure, adjacent to the original bridge. The Spanks Bridge is now a 40-meter simple span steel plate girder bridge.
Due to perched bedrock conditions on one side of the structure, semi-integral piled abutments were designed to support the three composite steel plate girder superstructures.
Unique Challenges
A 90-degree sharp turn exists to the immediate east of the bridge, requiring the north wingwall to be designed with a pronounced crank to ensure that the required truck turning radius was maintained along the inside lane of the turn.