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The Deh Cho Bridge, which crosses the Mackenzie River near Fort Providence, earned an engineering award from the International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh earlier this month. - photo courtesy of Gregory J. Nyul |
Deh Cho Bridge wins award Previous winners include bridges in China, France, Brazil
Graeme McNaughton
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, June 12, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The bridge linking Yellowknife with the south has been honoured with an international award.
The Deh Cho Bridge was given the Gustav Lindenthal Medal at the International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh earlier this month.
"The Deh Cho Bridge stands as a commendable example of using innovative design to meet stringent challenges, such as site conditions and location, schedule and budget constraints, while also creating an iconic, landmark structure," stated Steven Sternberger, the head of industrial marketing, coatings, adhesives and specialities for Bayer MaterialScience, which sponsored the award, in a news release.
Transportation Minister David Ramsay said the award, named after an American civil engineer renowned for designing the Hell Gate Bridge in New York City, is something the Northwest Territories should be proud of.
"This recognition speaks well to the hard work and dedication of those who oversaw the project and brought it to a successful completion," said Ramsay, MLA for Kam Lake.
Past winners of the medal include the Xihoumen Bridge, a 5.3-kilometre bridge connecting Jintang and Cezi Islands in China, and the Millau Viaduct, which spans the River Tarn in southern France and is the tallest bridge in the world.
The Deh Cho Bridge officially opened to traffic on Nov. 30 following years of delays caused by changes in design and budget increases.
The $202-million bridge was the first to be constructed over the Mackenzie River and serves to connect Yellowknife and the rest of the North Slave with Highway 1 in the south.
The bridge replaced the ferry and ice bridge service previously in place.
This wasn't the first trip to the podium for the Deh Cho Bridge. The structure also won the Award of Merit for Soft Engineering from the Association of Consulting Engineering Companies of British Columbia and the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction-British Columbia Steel Design Award of Excellence.
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