![]() | This article needs to be updated.(July 2017) |
Johnson Street Bridge | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Coordinates | 48°25′41″N123°22′18″W / 48.428061°N 123.371594°W |
Carries | 3 lanes of Esquimalt Road |
Locale | Victoria, British Columbia |
Characteristics | |
Design | Single-leaf rolling bascule |
Longest span | 46 m (151 ft) |
History | |
Opened | 31 March 2018 |
Location | |
![]() |
Four known bridges have spanned the narrows between the Inner Harbour and Upper Harbour of Victoria, British Columbia, connecting Johnson Street on the east shore with Esquimalt Road on the west shore. [1] The current bridge is Canada's largest single-leaf bascule bridge. [2]
A low wagon bridge was completed in 1855, which blocked marine traffic. It was dismantled in 1862 and was replaced with a ferry service.
In 1888, a hand-operated swing bridge of limited load capacity was built for rail and foot traffic only.
The third Johnson Street Bridge was built as two adjacent, independent, heel trunnion bascule bridges, a three-lane road span of 350 long tons (392 short tons; 356 t), and a single-track rail span of 150 long tons (168 short tons; 152 t). The approaches were fixed steel girders; the east 34 m (112 ft) and the west 22 m (72 ft). Counterweights were of hollow concrete weighing 780 long tons (870 short tons; 790 t). Operating struts were moved by pinions powered by 56-kilowatt (75 hp) electric motors.
The Johnson Street Bridge was designed under the direction of Mr. F. M. Preston, City Engineer in 1920. The Strauss Bascule Bridge Company, which held the patents on the design, prepared the plans for the 45 m (148 ft) bascule spans and the operating machinery. The superstructure of the bridge was fabricated in Walkerville, Ontario of 100 tons of steel. The sub-structure was built by the City of Victoria Engineering Department and required 9,144 cubic metres (11,960 cubic yards) of concrete. The bridge was completed at a cost of $918,000 (27 per cent higher than the estimated cost of $720,000) and opened in January 1924.
The bridge originally had street car rails running down the center of the road span, but they were never used, and were removed a few years later. In 1966, the wood deck was replaced with steel grid, as rainwater absorbed by the deck unbalanced the bridge, straining the lifting gear. In 1979, extensive repairs were made to the superstructure, which had become severely corroded. Following these repairs, the bridge was painted blue. The paint was selected because the oxides of its pigment are the same colour as the paint so that little fading of the colour occurs. [3] The City of Victoria had used the same blue paint for the lamp standards throughout the city.
In 1995, abnormally high temperatures caused the steel decking to expand to the point the bridge would not open or close properly. This necessitated the removal of about 25 mm (1 in) of the decking.
Daily traffic in 2010 was 30,000 trips a day at peak usage, of which 4000 are pedestrians, 3000 cyclists, and 23,000 vehicles. Until 2011, the rail span for the E&N was used twice a day by the Via Rail Dayliner, for trips up the island towards Duncan, Nanaimo and Courtenay.
On April 2, 2009, the preliminary results of an overall condition assessment of the Johnson Street Bridge [4] were presented to Victoria City Council; Council gave approval-in-principle on April 23, 2009 to replace the 85-year-old Johnson Street Bridge.
The Delcan Report concluded:
Based on the findings of this study either a repair or a replacement option could be justified from a cost perspective. There is, however, in our opinion a need to address the seismic vulnerability of the existing bridge given that it is heavily trafficked and located in the most seismically active city in Canada. In this report we have suggested that this vulnerability should be addressed within 2 to 3 years by implementing a seismic retrofit or by replacing the bridge. [5]
After a detailed presentation by City Engineering staff and Delcan engineering consultants, and lengthy discussion by council, an approval-in-principle to proceed with replacement of the bridge was made.
"Today’s decision is an exciting first step that will significantly improve a vital transportation corridor to downtown. There is a tremendous amount of work ahead and we will continue to make thoughtful, prudent decisions as we proceed through this process." Mayor Dean Fortin.
On July 9, 2009, Victoria City Council asked staff to proceed with pursuing a design-build model and developing terms of reference for an advisory panel of community representatives to participate in the Johnson Street Bridge Replacement Project.
On July 24, 2009, seven residents of Greater Victoria were named to the Johnson Street Bridge Citizen Advisory Committee [6] and City Council awarded the Owner's Representative contract to MMM Group Limited to project manage the replacement of the 85-year-old bascule bridge. Victoria City Council was presented on September 8, 2009 with the 3 design concepts [7] for the new Johnson Street Bridge.
On September 24, 2009, City Council decided on the Rolling Bascule Bridge [8] as the design for the new Johnson Street Bridge after reviewing public feedback, recommendations from the Citizens Advisory Committee and advice from a staff technical committee. On November 19, 2009, the city council voted in favour of an Alternate Approval Process to require a counter petition. (Vote, out of 8: 4 in favour, 2 against, 2 absent) If more than 10% of residents (6400) would oppose the borrowing bylaw, then the issue would go to a referendum.
During October and November 2009, the Province of BC declined to contribute to funding the bridge project. A few weeks later the federal government approved a $21 million grant for the replacement project. Federal funding came from the Build Canada Fund.
In December 2009, a counter petition was launched to force the city to go to a referendum to obtain approval for funding bylaw No.09-057 to borrow $42 million towards the total of $63 million, with $21 million coming from federal funding. The text of the petition reads: "I, the undersigned elector residing or owning real property within the City of Victoria, do hereby present my name on this elector response form for the purpose of opposing the Council of the City of Victoria adopting Loan Authorization (Johnson Street Bridge) Bylaw No. 09-057 without first obtaining the assent of the electors by a vote (referendum)." Signatures were to be gathered by January 4, 2010. On January 4, 2010, organizers presented a successful counter petition to City Hall, with 9872 valid Victoria elector signatures. The borrowing bylaw for the bridge project went to a referendum. In February 2010, the city commissioned MMM Group to prepare a full Class C report on comparable options for replacement and rehabilitation.
On May 27, 2010, the results of an Ipsos Reid survey were released. [9] Residents taking the survey ranked their priority factors for the bridge as: a dedicated pedestrian walkway, lifespan of the bridge, cost, dedicated bike lanes, accessibility for other users (wheelchairs, scooters, strollers, visually impaired), and safety, above heritage value and having a rail crossing. [10] Business owners did not see a benefit from one bridge option over the other, but concerns over cost and construction issues including potential closures were noted. [11]
On June 11, 2010, Banjar Management's Economic Impact Assessment identified economic benefits of the bridge to "range between $48 million and $54 million for the rehabilitation alternative and $47 to $53 million for replacement of the bridge over the four to five years required for project delivery." [12] Negative economic impacts were assessed as follows:
On June 14, 2010, MMM Engineering Group made a presentation [13] to council of their report [14] on the rehabilitation and replacement options, including updated cost estimates, [15] revised timelines, [16] economic impact study [17] of potential closures and options for different levels of seismic upgrading (6.5m vs 8.5m). Refurbishment, with seismic upgrades to 8.5 as recommended [18] in the report, and a third, new span to be a multi-use bridge, was estimated to cost 103 million. Replacement of the existing structure, with accompanying work on the approaches to the bridge, with priority given to a mix of users including vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, was estimated to cost 89 million. The MMM Group study was also peer-reviewed [19] by Stantec Consulting Ltd, Victoria. [20] [21] Stantec found the proposed bridge "technically appropriate", and that the projected costs for both rehab and replacement were "considered reasonable." [22]
On June 17, the city council decided to ask other municipalities to help fund the costs of maintaining the rail link. This would reduce the cost of refurbishment by $23 million, and replacement by $12 million. Long-term planning for commuter rail to the western communities will be affected if the rail line no longer crosses into downtown Victoria, and instead terminates in Victoria West. The deadline for obtaining this funding was August 12, 2010. The city council also voted on this date to update the bridge to a seismic standard of 8.5 magnitude. [23]
On July 8, 2010, information packages [24] and numbered surveys were sent out to all Victoria residents. The city invited input up to the August 12 deadline. During the month of July, City of Victoria hosted 2 open houses and bridge tours to provide information on the projects to residents. City staff, engineers, and project managers were present to answer questions. [25]
On August 12, 2010, Victoria city councillors voted to replace the Johnson Street Bridge, rather than refurbish the existing bridge. All councillors except for Coun. Geoff Young supported replacing the bridge. The vote was done after tours, open houses, and surveys were done to inform residents of Victoria of the options. An Ipsos-Reid survey found that 64% and 68% of residents and businesses respectively preferred replacing the bridge with a new one. A referendum would still be held on November 20, 2010 to ask residents if they support the city borrowing money for the cost of the new bridge. [26] On November 20, 2010 the referendum to support the city borrowing money for the cost of the new bridge passed 61% to 39%. The new bridge was scheduled to be completed in 2015, at which time the old bridge would be removed.
On March 31, 2011, the rail span was closed to rail traffic after a routine inspection found corrosion damage on key structural elements. A preliminary estimate of repair costs was $120,000. [27] The railway span and approaches were removed in February 2012 to make room for the new bridge. [28]
Rail freight service up Store St. to commercial properties on the east side of the Upper Harbour had been discontinued decades before. Since then, the line terminated at a small passenger station beside the bridge. Victoria–Courtenay passenger service was suspended indefinitely in March 2011 due to deteriorating track.
On March 31, 2018, the road span was closed to pedestrian traffic, after being closed to vehicular traffic two days earlier. The closing/commissioning ceremony was attended by Victoria City Councillors, mayors from across the Capital Regional District, project managers and engineers for the new bridge, and members of the public. The road span and approaches were removed during spring 2018. [29]
Construction of a rolling bascule bridge beside the third bridge began in 2013, and opened to the public on March 31, 2018. [29] [30] As of December 31, 2017, actual costs of $96.08 million had been incurred, to an approved budget of $105.06 million. [31] The bridge affords a three-lane roadway, a pedestrian walkway on the south side, and a multi-use pathway on the north side.
The Dumbarton Bridge is the southernmost of the highway bridges across San Francisco Bay in California. Carrying over 70,000 vehicles and about 118 pedestrian and bicycle crossings daily, it is the shortest bridge across San Francisco Bay at 1.63 miles. Its eastern end is in Fremont, near Newark in the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and its western end is in Menlo Park. Bridging State Route 84 across the bay, it has three lanes each way and a separated bike/pedestrian lane along its south side. Like the San Mateo Bridge to the north, power lines parallel the bridge.
The River Hull is a navigable river in the East Riding of Yorkshire in Northern England. It rises from a series of springs to the west of Driffield, and enters the Humber Estuary at Kingston upon Hull. Following a period when the Archbishops of York charged tolls for its use, it became a free navigation. The upper reaches became part of the Driffield Navigation from 1770, after which they were again subject to tolls, and the section within the city of Hull came under the jurisdiction of the Port of Hull, with the same result.
The Fremont Bridge is a double-leaf bascule bridge that spans the Fremont Cut in Seattle, Washington. The bridge, which connects Fremont Avenue North and 4th Avenue North, connects the neighborhoods of Fremont and Queen Anne.
The Burnside Bridge is a 1926-built bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, carrying Burnside Street. It is the second bridge at the same site to carry that name. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 2012.
The Morrison Bridge is a bascule bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon. Completed in 1958, it is the third bridge at approximately the same site to carry that name. It is one of the most heavily used bridges in Portland. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 2012.
The Broadway Bridge is a Rall-type bascule bridge spanning the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, built in 1913. It was Portland's first bascule bridge, and it continues to hold the distinction of being the longest span of its bascule design type in the world. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 2012.
The Interstate Bridge is a pair of nearly identical steel vertical-lift, Parker through-truss bridges that carry Interstate 5 traffic over the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon in the United States.
The Sellwood Bridge is a deck arch bridge that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, in the United States. The current bridge opened in 2016 and replaced a 1925 span that had carried the same name. The original bridge was Portland's first fixed-span bridge and, being the only river crossing for miles in each direction, the busiest two-lane bridge in Oregon.
The BNSF Railway Bridge 5.1, also known as the St. Johns Railroad Bridge or the Willamette River Railroad Bridge, is a through truss railway bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States. Built by the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway (SP&S) and completed in 1908, it was originally a swing-span bridge, and its swing-span section was the longest in the world at the time. However, 81 years later the main span was converted from a swing-type to a vertical-lift type, in order to widen the navigation channel. The lift span is one of the highest and longest in the world. The bridge consists of five sections, with the two sections closest to the bank on each side fixed.
The Maurice J. Tobin Memorial Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge that spans more than two miles (3.2 km) from Boston to Chelsea over the Mystic River in Massachusetts. The bridge is the largest in New England. It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and carries U.S. Route 1. It was built between 1948 and 1950 and opened to traffic on February 2, 1950, replacing the former Chelsea Bridge. The 36-foot (11 m)-wide roadway has three lanes of traffic on each of the two levels with northbound traffic on the lower level and southbound traffic on the upper level.
The West Seattle Bridge, officially the Jeanette Williams Memorial Bridge, is a cantilevered segmental bridge that serves as the primary connection between West Seattle and important highways such as State Route 99, the Spokane Street Viaduct, and Interstate 5. It was built between 1981 and 1984 after the previous bascule bridge was deemed inoperable as a result of being struck by the freighter Antonio Chavez in 1978.
The Chicago and North Western Railway's Kinzie Street railroad bridge is a single leaf bascule bridge across the north branch of the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, Illinois. At the time of its opening in 1908 it was the world's longest and heaviest bascule bridge. The previous bridges on the same site included a pedestrian span that was the first bridge across the Chicago River; a second bridge that served as Chicago's first railroad bridge; and a third bridge that was one of the first all-steel spans in the United States.
The Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge is a bascule bridge and Warren truss in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located in the industrial Port Lands area, it carries Cherry Street over the Toronto Harbour Ship Channel and opens to allow ships to access the channel and the turning basin beyond. There are two bascule bridges on Cherry Street. The other, smaller bridge, crosses the Keating Channel, while this bridge crosses the Ship Channel.
The Amtrak Old Saybrook–Old Lyme Bridge is the last crossing of the Connecticut River before it reaches Long Island Sound. It is a Truss bridge with a bascule span, allowing boat traffic to pass through. The bridge is owned by Amtrak and used by Northeast Regional, Acela Express, Shore Line East and a few freight trains traversing the Northeast Corridor. It can be seen from the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge, as well as from various points on Route 154.
The Cherry Street lift bridge over the Keating Channel was the smaller of two bascule lift bridges on Cherry Street, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The bridge spanned the canalized mouth of the Don River where it empties into Toronto Harbour. It was the fourth bridge at that location, before being replaced by the Cherry Street North bridge.
The West Spokane Street Bridge was a pair of bascule bridges that crossed the west fork of the Duwamish River in Seattle, Washington, United States. The bridges connected the SoDo and West Seattle neighborhoods over the river. The original bridge opened to traffic in 1924; a second bridge carrying eastbound traffic was opened in 1930, with the 1924 bridge reconfigured to carry westbound traffic.
The Dumbarton Rail Bridge lies just to the south of the Dumbarton road bridge. Built in 1910, the rail bridge was the first structure to span San Francisco Bay, shortening the rail route between Oakland and San Francisco by 26 miles (42 km). The last freight train traveled over the bridge in 1982, and it has been proposed since 1991 to reactivate passenger train service to relieve traffic on the road bridges, though this would entail a complete replacement of the existing bridge. Part of the western timber trestle approach collapsed in a suspected arson fire in 1998.
Eighth Street Bridge is a road bridge over the Passaic River in northeastern New Jersey, United States. It connects the City of Passaic in Passaic County with the Borough of Wallington in Bergen County and is jointly owned by both counties. The bridge connects Eighth Street in Passaic with County Route 507 in Wallington.
The Rio Vista Bridge is a continuous truss span with a vertical-lift bridge in the middle which carries California State Route 12 across the Sacramento River at Rio Vista, California. The present bridge was completed in 1960 and is one of several moveable bridges spanning rivers in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. It is named after Helen Madere, who served as vice-mayor of Rio Vista. As of 2013 the bridge carries approximately 21,000 cars per day.
The Dumbarton Rail Corridor is a proposed transbay passenger rail line which would reuse the right-of-way that was initially constructed from 1907–1910 as the Dumbarton Cut-off. The Dumbarton Cut-off includes the first structure to span San Francisco Bay, the 1910 Dumbarton Rail Bridge, although the vintage Cut-off bridges would likely be replaced prior to activating new passenger service. Dumbarton Rail Corridor would provide service between Union City in the East Bay and Menlo Park on the Peninsula, with train service continuing to both San Francisco and San José along the existing Caltrain tracks. It has been in the planning stages since 1988, and would be the first above-ground transbay rail line since Key System electric trains stopped running on the lower deck of the Bay Bridge in 1958, and the first new transbay crossing of any kind since the completion of the Transbay Tube in 1974.