Big Eddy Bridge faces repairs; uncertain future
The future of the Big Eddy Bridge hangs on engineering reports.
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: July 21, 2009 12:25 PM
The future of Revelstoke’s Big Eddy Bridge is still uncertain, despite a recent engineering report which lead to a closure and repairs on the 87-year-old span.
According to Ministry of Transport Communications Director David Crebo, the ministry has to review the results of an engineering study before deciding on the aging bridge’s future.
“The consultant’s engineering report came in just the other day,” said Crebo last week, continuing, “Folks are looking at that and reviewing it.”
Crebo explained that a closure earlier this summer was intended as a temporary measure to maintain the bridge’s current load rating of two tonnes until more comprehensive reports and possibly repairs can be completed.
“The western span has been temporarily repaired to keep the bridge at the two tonne load rating, and that work involved providing supports to the structural beams there,” said Crebo. “Now, permanent work is going to be required on that and the eastern span. And as far as the middle spans go, some more review is needed what, if any, work is required to address those deficiencies in the middle sections.”
“More permanent repairs need to be done on that and the eastern span, and so what the ministry is doing is having a look at what the best engineered solutions are and what they would cost. So that work is going on right now. I don’t have a time estimate on what that would be,” explained Crebo, who continued: “There’s deficiencies highlighted, work’s got to be done—now, what’s the best way to do it? And again, cost certainly has to be an issue to be considered.”
Crebo explained the the aging span has seen several load rating reductions over its lifetime, but he also noted that, at 87-years-old, the bridge exceeds the estimated 75 year life span of new bridges like the one at Clanwilliam by over a decade.
“Big Eddy was designed to hold one twenty tonne truck, but that was 87 years ago when probably one a day came along. But it certainly wasn’t designed for today’s traffic of ... about 2000 trucks a day, hence the problem,” explained Crebo. “It was at twenty [tonnes] once upon a time, it’s now down to two [tonnes], which ... is basically an empty pick-up or a loaded passenger car.”
As for the safety of the bridge, Crebo said: “The bridge is up and open, and safe for the travelling public at the two tonne limit. If it wasn’t safe, it wouldn’t be open. It’s certainly safe, for what it now is capable of holding.”
Yet Crebo was unable to comment on the bridge’s future, saying that the ministry is waiting on further analysis: “Right now, it’s hard to say. The next step is—if we want to get this thing back up to five tonnes—what would it take, and how much would it take?”
v2
