Capilano River Bridge and Marine Drive Overpass - West Vancouver, BC, Canada

Buckland & Taylor Ltd. has been retained as the engineering consultant for the replacement of the westbound bridge over the Capilano River at Marine Drive. The replacement bridge will be located on the existing bridge alignment. Maintaining the existing level of service to bridge users throughout the bridge replacement process is an essential project requirement.

The existing westbound bridge is a two-lane, through truss bridge with two spans, one built in 1929 and one in 1949. The new westbound bridge will have three lanes and will be 116m (381ft.) long. It will comprise steel girders and a concrete deck.

Buckland & Taylor Ltd. is performing overall project management services for the project as well as the necessary structural design discipline services. The firm is responsible for the entire design, which includes subcontracted design work, including; roadway, traffic, geotechnical, environmental and electrical disciplines.

This fast-tracked project involves moving the existing bridge superstructure to the north onto a temporary pier and abutments, to serve as a detour during the construction of the new bridge, and demolishing the existing bridge upon completion of the new one.

The design was complete in February 2010, and the existing bridge was moved to the detour route on 2010 June 20. Construction of the new bridge is underway.

As part of the overall project, Buckland & Taylor Ltd. has completed the design of a new five-lane, 39.3m (129ft.) two span continuous concrete box girder bridge to replace the existing Marine Drive Overpass. The new bridge will replace the existing overpass structures and add a dedicated bus lane to the south bound approach to the Lions’ Gate Bridge.

BC Place Roof, Vancouver, BC

Buckland & Taylor Ltd.'s assignment includes construction engineering for the progressive construction of the BC Place Roof, a cable suspended roof of 280m diameter supported from 36 steel masts.

Ongoing construction assistance will be provided to CANAM-Freyssinet on an as required basis during the entire construction period.

Parks Canada Bridges, BC, AB and SK, Canada

This project is a two year, plus option year, “As and When” contract for Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) Bridges and Roads in British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Responsible for miscellaneous projects as and when they occur, B&T’s assignments have included completing an assessment of the concrete deck on the Lower Liard Bridge on the Alaska Highway, development of an RFP for the Design/Build of the Icefields Interchange project in Banff National Park  followed by provision of Owner's Engineer services for the project bridges  and development of an RFP for bridges  on the Legacy Trail in Banff.

The Lower Liard River Bridge, constructed in 1943, is located on the Alaska Highway 300km west of Fort Nelson, BC. The two-lane bridge consists of a three-span suspension structure, with spans measuring 70.92m, 165.46m and 70.92m.

The Design/Build of the Icefields Interchange project is located along 3km of the Trans Canada Highway near Lake Louise, Alberta. It includes demolition and removal of the existing  Hwy 93 Interchange Bridge, construction of a new Interchange Bridge and associated ramps, lighting of the Interchange and a new Bow River Bridge at km 76 for new eastbound lanes of the twinned Trans Canada Highway. This image to the right is of an overpass at km 81.2, as part of the Icefields Interchange project.

The Banff Legacy Trail project includes  six trail bridge structures which are being designed to carry both pedestrians and cyclists along the south side of the TransCanada Highway in Banff National Park.

Angus L. Macdonald and A. Murray MacKay Bridges - Halifax to Dartmouth, NS, Canada

Buckland & Taylor Ltd., with subconsultant Harbourside Engineering Consultants, has been awarded a five year assignment for all structural engineering services related to the Macdonald and MacKay bridges in Halifax, Nova Scotia (with an option to extend the assignment for another five years).

This major accomplishment resulted from an open RFP with high quality international competition. Included in the anticipated work is a complete deck replacement of the Macdonald Bridge (similar to what was done for the Lions’ Gate Bridge).

Both are suspension bridges; the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge with a 441m (1447ft.) mainspan and A. Murray MacKay Bridge with a 426m (1400ft.) mainspan.

Ferhmarnbelt Link, Fehmarn, Germany to Lolland, Denmark

COWI/Obermeyer JV (COJV) has submitted a conceptual design to its client for the Fehmarnbelt Bridge – a crossing over the Baltic Sea between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland. Buckland & Taylor Ltd. participated in this ambitious and impressive project by completing an independent check of the conceptual design for the bridge.

B&T’s previous work on similar projects, such as the Harilaos Trikoupis (Rion-Antirion) Bridge in Greece and the Confederation Bridge in Nova Scotia, gives B&T the experience.

If the project moves forward, B&T may continue as the independent checker for the bridge.

Messina Strait Bridge - Calabria to Sicily, Italy

As part of the COWI group, Buckland & Taylor Ltd. has begun working on the “Progetto Definitivo,” or Final Design, phase of the project. The Messina Strait Bridge will connect Calabria in the south of Italy to the island of Sicily with a single suspended span of 3,300m (10,800ft.).

When completed, the bridge will have the longest suspended span in the world, with a length that is 66% longer than that of the current record holder, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Kobe, Japan. B&T’s efforts will be focused primarily on the design of the massive main towers – each as tall as the Empire State Building, with each leg’s footprint nearly the size of a tennis court.

Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Abu Dhabi, UAE

The Sheikh Zayed Bridge will have 11 spans, three arches (Marina, Main and Secondary), and four main piers (West Main Pier, Marina Pier, Central Pier, and East Main Pier) in addition to several land piers.  All four main piers, land piers, and the three arches are now complete, in addition to seven of the eleven deck spans (spans 1 to 3 and spans 8 to 11). Construction at the site is progressing much faster now than in the past six years. Work is underway on deck spans 4 to 6 and span 7, with an estimated 2000 workers on site.  Falsework for these spans is erected, and the crossbeams supporting spans 4 to 6 have been poured, in addition to the first pour of span 4.  Once these last few spans are finished, the construction will be complete.

Buckland & Taylor Ltd. has been the Construction Engineer for the Sheikh Zayed Bridge project since the start of construction in 2003. In addition to providing traditional construction engineering services such as construction sequence and review of stresses in permanent works during construction, Buckland & Taylor Ltd. has checked almost all of the temporary works currently on site. The bridge is expected to be completed in October 2010.