Workers fabricated and connected major structural pieces — from the pier bases and shafts that sit on the ocean floor to support the bridge, to the main girders that are the backbone of the structure. Special ice-shields were designed and installed to protect the support piers from the pack ice that flows through the Strait every winter. Each of the pieces, some weighing more than 7, tonnes, were transported from the fabrication yard by a m high floating crane.
Newly developed GPS systems allowed engineers to place the components on the ocean floor with an accuracy of 2 cm.
At its peak, the project employed almost 2, workers. The government of PEI reported 70 per cent of that was spent on the Island. As the project neared completion, the federal government created an advisory committee to come up with a name for the bridge. The public was asked to submit suggestions and some 2, people responded.
The Confederation Bridge was officially opened 31 May An estimated 75, people turned out for the celebration and the chance to walk or run across the engineering marvel. An estimated 1. Some of the increase was attributed to the novelty factor of the bridge itself. In subsequent years bridge traffic has levelled off to approximately 1. In recent years there has been growing discontent from residents of Prince Edward Island about the increasing cost of using the bridge.
Drivers travelling at normal speeds 80 kilometres per hour can cross the bridge in approximately ten minutes. However, the speed limit is dropped when weather conditions dictate. During the winter, high winds across the strait can be dangerous enough to cause traffic restrictions, closing the bridge to large trucks, recreational vehicles, and buses. Cars are often still able to cross because they are protected by the 1.
A shuttle bus transports these travellers across the bridge on demand, with a maximum two-hour wait. With a length of The bridge has 61 piers 45 for the bridge alone and 16 for the accesses , which have a record span of for a prestressed concrete structure m to limit the number of piers in deep water and not hamper the ice from breaking up. A massive concrete shield protects the piers.
This segmented shield was specially designed to raise ice sheets and break them by bending. The bridge was designed to use major precast and prestressed components weighing up to 7, tonnes, made of grade B55 and even B grade high-performance concrete where the ice shields are concerned. Given the type of ground and the depth of the water, the foundations of the main structure were superficial foundations. They were built using precast reinforced concrete elements, laid in a ring footing prepared in advance and filled with concrete pumped underwater.
Pier bases were fitted on the segmented summit of the foundation plates with a sufficient gap in-between. The bridge deck components were also prefabricated in m sections. Learn about the history of its construction and the important role that Public Services and Procurement Canada played and continues to play. The Confederation Bridge is nearly 13 kilometres long and is the longest bridge in Canada.
It is also the longest bridge in the world that spans ice-covered water. More than 1 million people drive across the bridge to visit Prince Edward Island every year. For generations, the only way to reach Prince Edward Island was by ferry. When Prince Edward Island joined Canada in , the federal government promised to provide year-round ferry service to carry people and mail between the island and the mainland.
Taking the ferry was the most common way on and off the island for more than years.
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