Our Projects
Raising the Bar at Every Turn
Engineering Design and Innovation
Every project that Harbourside undertakes is backed by our commitment to engineering excellence. Our work is characterized by thorough communication and comprehensive design. We see the whole picture. At every step, Harbourside redefines the meaning of quality engineering. With seasoned professionals from every sector of the industry, we are able to solve even the most technically challenging projects. Both throughout Canada, and on the international stage, our work has been recognized by highest supervising bodies. The award-winning projects below are a testament to the calibre of the engineering performed at Harbourside.
Nova Centre, Halifax
Harbourside Engineering consultants were involved with the structural design of Halifax’s iconic Nova Centre. Working in conjunction with Cherubini, Harbourside helped to solve structural challenges issues surrounding the enormous box girders used in the convention centre’s construction.
Souris Marine Terminal
The Souris Harbour Authority required engineering and consultation and analysis services in 2012 to evaluate the operations and conditions surrounding the Souris Marine Terminal on Prince Edward Island. Harbourside provided reviews and analyses of the site, permitting modernizations and infrastructure improvements, with the main challenge being the extension of service life for the existing infrastructure. In addition, upgrades to the facility may allow for larger vessels to use the terminal, making it a more versatile facility overall.
Peake’s Quay Marina Retaining Wall Repairs
The Peake’s Quay Marina Retaining Wall consists of steel H piles with tie backs to concrete deadman anchors. The water side flanges of the H piles suffered corrosion and abrasion in the tidal zone, so Harbourside Engineering Consultants was approached by the Charlottetown Area Development Corporation to provide repair details for the water side face of the piles. The maintenance and repairs of these retaining walls ensures that the quay remains in operations and improves the overall safety profile of the area in downtown Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
Marie Bridge Alternate Design
The Marie Bridge, located in King’s County Prince Edward Island, is a bridge situated over a small watercourse feeding the St. Peter’s Bay. Working with Highfield Construction, Harbourside Engineering Consultants produced an alternate design for the new structure, featuring integral abutments and reducing the total piling requirements by half. Harbourside designed a temporary detour bridge and detailed the detour alignment around the site, enabling the work on the replacement structure to proceed without interference from traffic.
Macdonald Bridge Foundation Retrofit
As part of the deck replacement for the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge in Halifax, Nova Scotia, existing bridge elements remaining in service were analyzed for the new loading conditions. Due to the decrease in deck weight and revised wind loads, the analyses indicated a potential overturning instability in the Halifax Cable Bent foundations. Rock anchors were selected as a means of remediating this instability, which were designed by Harbourside Engineering based on the hold down requirements indicated by the numerical analysis.
Wagner Brook Bridge
In 2013, Harbourside worked with Alvan Construction to design the new Wagner Brook bridge in Queen’s County, Nova Scotia. The original tender called a solution requiring significant costly in-water work, so Harbourside worked with Alva Construction to develop an alternate design following project award that spanned the full water width with a single structure and perched the piled abutments out of the water. Along with a superior final product, the alternate design provided significant cost savings to our client.
Fletcher Hebb Bridge Replacement
Dexter Construction was awarded the design-build contract for the demolition and replacement of the existing Fletcher Hebb Bridge in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, for the NS Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal. Harbourside Engineering was hired by both Dexter and Shaw Precast to carry out the design of the new bridge and provide construction engineering services. The project was completed on time, on budget, and within the seven-day permitted road closure.
Magaguadavic River Bridge Demolition
Harbourside Engineering Consultants was engaged to complete an engineered demolition plan to remove the center 40.5 m span of the existing Magaguadavic River Bridge close to Saint George, New Brunswick. Harbourside developed an innovative demolition technique where the structure was broken at mid-span to create two prop-cantilevered structures, which were then demolished by Dexter Construction with an excavator, located on the deck with a breaker attachment.
Caribou Ferry Terminal (Part 2): Repairs and Upgrades
Harbourside completed an assessment of the existing condition of a variety of marine structures at the Caribou Ferry Terminal, an important access point between Prince Edward Island and the mainland in Caribou, Nova Scotia. Harbourside oversaw the assessment of various structures, including the steel sheet pile (SSP) walls, SSP caissons, and concrete cribs. Following the assessment, Harbourside Engineering completed repair prioritization and initial cost estimates for a variety of repairs required around the facility.
Highway 104 Twinning (Part 1)
The twinning of Highway 104 comprised of various projects for the roadway's modernization, as twinned highways are safer and more efficient than their single-lane counterparts. Harbourside Engineering Consultants completed the design of the twin overpass structures at the Trunk 7 intersection near St. Francis Xavier University, through Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and received the 2025 Lieutenant Governor’s Award for Excellence in Engineering resulting from work on this project.
Waverley Road Rapid Bridge Replacements
Waverley Road is a high traffic density artery for commuters traveling from Waverley to Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Harbourside Engineering Consultants was hired to develop and design panel bridge abutments for two separate structures: the Little Rawdon River Bridge and the Golden Brook Bridge. Harbourside accomplished the rapid replacement of the existing timber bridges using precast modular footings, beams seats and ballast walls. The existing timber bridges were each removed and replaced in two days.
Northport Bridge Replacement Alternate
Harbourside Engineering Consultants was hired by Alva Construction to provide an alternate design for the replacement of the Northport Bridge, spanning the Shinimicas River in Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, along Route 366. The alternate design, completed by Harbourside, resulted in significant cost savings for the contractor as well as the NS Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal by reducing the number of girders in the structure from the parent design, as well as significantly reducing the number of piles in the abutments.
Little Bras D’Or Cofferdam, Trestle and Bridge Replacement
The Little Bras D’Or bridge acts as the only non-load related link to the Newfoundland ferry in North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and was slated for replacement in 2010. Following the development of the Little Bras D’Or Cofferdam and Trestle, Harbourside was involved with the replacement of the existing bridge structure. The bridge, located on Highway 105 in Cape Breton County, is a two span twin trapezoidal steel box girder bridge spanning over St. Andrew’s Channel, and it is integral to keep Newfoundland and Nova Scotia connected.
Canal Bridge Replacement
The Canal Bridge over Rights River in Antigonish is an important connector for the community. As part of the main street that bisects the town, it acts as an integral transportation artery. Unfortunately, by 2008, the aging structure needed to be replaced. Harbourside completed the design of the new bridge in 2009. Construction was then done during the 2010 and 2011 construction seasons.
Caribou Ferry Terminal (Part 1): Harbour Planning
Public Works and Government Services Canada hired Harbourside Engineering Consultants to carry out preliminary engineering and planning for proposed upgrades to the existing harbour located in Caribou, Nova Scotia. These upgrades were intended to provide increased protection to vessels in the harbour, increased berthage, and increased service areas for off-loading operations. This project was conducted prior to the founding of Harbourside Geotechnical Consultants, which necessitated the assistance of additional subcontractors.
Skinners Pond Breakwater Repairs
Harbourside was engaged by Public Works and Government Services Canada to develop the concept and to complete the detailed design of repairs to the bulkhead breakwater structure at the Skinner’s Pond Facility, Prince Edward Island, which had severely deteriorated by 2011. The preliminary phase of the work included the assessment of the condition and life expectancy of the existing structure, and Phase II included the detailed design of a new wharf and breakwater design that would meet the required design life and loading requirements of the facility.
Chéticamp River Bridge Replacement
The former Chéticamp River Bridge underwent a detailed inspection in 2006, resulting in a recommendation that the structure be completely replaced. In response, Public Works and Government Services Canada issued a call for proposals for the replacement of the bridge in 2008. Harbourside began design work on the new bridge in 2009 and created comprehensive three-dimensional finite element models for its construction. Harbourside was later awarded the 2011 CISC Atlantic Chapter Steel Design Award for Engineering Excellence for the design of this project.
Sangster Bridge Demolition
Harbourside worked with Dexter Construction on the demolition of the Sangster Bridge in Hants County, Nova Scotia, in 2010. The original demolition plan (not provided by Harbourside) proposed a temporary in-water support and lifted the bridge out in two sections due to the limited crane sizes available. Harbourside instead developed a demolition plan that supported one end of the bridge on modular barge units, allowing the bridge to be floated to one approach and demolished in sections on land.
PEITIR Bridge Inspection Program
Prince Edward Island Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal adopted a database program called the PEI Bridge Management System (BMS) in 2008, which requires the inspection of all bridges in the system bi-annually. It allows the BMS to highlight a timeline of when each individual structure will require maintenance, major rehabilitation, or replacement. Since 2010, Harbourside Engineering Consultants has been responsible for the detailed inspection of approximately 40 structures bi-annually for PEITIR.
Larry Uteck Interchange
The Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal sought to improve the interchange at Larry Uteck Boulevard between Exits 2 and 3 in Bedford. Harbourside Engineering Consultants provided the structural bridge design services for this project. A preliminary design report detailing three fully developed structural options, complete with capital cost estimates and a final recommendation, was provided to NSTIR. The project began in 2008, and construction was completed in the summer of 2010.