The bridge project illustrates just how important one North American city is to another.
A one-year delay in replacing a major bridge in the City of Edmonton, Alberta, can now go ahead thanks, in part, to the delivery of a new crane that has gone into service at the Port of Everett, Washington. In announcing the delay Barry Belcourt, City of Edmonton Branch Manager for Road Design and Construction, said in a prepared statement: “We are disappointed that the new Walterdale Bridge will not open to public service in fall 2015 as we had anticipated. We know many Edmontonians will also be disappointed and we regret the delay. “The existing Walterdale Bridge remains in service and will continue carrying traffic downtown until the new bridge opens. Traffic and river valley trail detours remain in place. “The project’s general contractor Acciona/Pacer Joint Venture (APJV) said that without the steel on site it was unable to meet several project milestones. As part of its contract with the City, APJV assumes the full project delivery risk, including penalties for schedule delays.” The estimated Cdn$155 million for the replacement bridge remains unchanged, he said. Construction of the bridge began in January 2013. The new 150-ton GHMK 7608 mobile crane at Everett, working in tandem with the port’s existing crane are now capable of lifting 250MTs. With the new crane the port’s cargo handling equipment now includes two 40-ton gantry cranes, a 50-ton rail mounted gantry crane, a railcar pusher and three reach stackers. Lisa Lefeber, port spokesperson, said the bridge parts arrived on an RAAL Shipping vessel and weigh in at 50 – 80 metric tons. The next shipment for the project will arrive in May and will be moved to Edmonton by rail and truck.