thommyjo
Senior Member
Too basic. Needs to be a statement bridge for the next century.
Vancouver has a few that come to mind with the sort of height and span we would need.
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- Thread starter Daveography
- Start date
Vancouver has a few that come to mind with the sort of height and span we would need.
yeggator
Active Member
I definitely agree that it should be a statement bridge, but absolutely not a suspension/cable-stayed bridge. The existing HLB deck is 48m high, and you still have to descend from the top if the valley on either side to reach it. Assuming we build the new bridge fully level with the top of either riverbank, it would be even higher and the bridge towers would be ridiculously tall. Underside arches are the way to go imo.
husky
Active Member
Something like the bridge in Porto, Portugal would be awesome.
AJo
New Member
Ooohhh..... like the Maria Pia? I think it gives the best nod towards the original bridge. I'm not nearly as fond of the newer Infante Dom Henrique bridge... too minimalist.
yeggator
Active Member
That one’s cool. The Ponte da Arrábida is also a sleek modern bridge but you’re right that we should get a bridge design paying homage to the OG HLB.
kcantor
Senior Member
Arch bridges and how to build them (including some great images):
It's a very large file so give it time to download. It's worth the wait.
From elsewhere, there's the Walterdale Bridge writ large:
It's a very large file so give it time to download. It's worth the wait.
From elsewhere, there's the Walterdale Bridge writ large:
ChazYEG
Senior Member
I just skimmed over this, but it is actually fascinating. The math on it is wildly interesting, too
itom987
Active Member
Here is some more food for thought...
If the HLB gets demolished, the steel frame could be used to build the Alberta Railway Museum on the Strathcona rail yard. The frame can be used to construct smaller bridges for the MUP network throughout the city. They could also be sold to developers for use on future construction projects in Edmonton. Imagine a new glass office tower framed with riveted steel! This would help offset the cost of building a new bridge.
The development community needs to do a better job of recycling construction materials.
If the HLB gets demolished, the steel frame could be used to build the Alberta Railway Museum on the Strathcona rail yard. The frame can be used to construct smaller bridges for the MUP network throughout the city. They could also be sold to developers for use on future construction projects in Edmonton. Imagine a new glass office tower framed with riveted steel! This would help offset the cost of building a new bridge.
The development community needs to do a better job of recycling construction materials.
chrisvazquez7
Active Member
The deterioration of the bridge is primarily due to lack of maintenance by CP back when they owned the bridge. It’s really unfortunate, but a bridge should be a safe piece of infrastructure first and foremost, no matter how historically significant. I think demolishing and building a new bridge to last 200 years is the best option at this point.
BASE
Active Member
Do love the HLB and it's historic nature but too many reasons to build new that can accommodate larger traffic levels, street car/lrt, & HSR. I'm leaving it up to those that know better that it wouldn't look great having the two bridges visually side by side (plus high level would still need investment). It's also the not trivial to consider the impact economically of redoing the high level and the associated disturbance.
David A
Senior Member
This could be considered in the design process for a new bridge. Some of the examples already posted here, could go very well with the existing High Level Bridge, others would not.
David A
Senior Member
Hasn't the bridge already been refurbished at least once since when they owned it? Not sure we can still continue to blame them any more.
kcantor
Senior Member
At least once is the key…
It’s also worth noting that most people just think of the steel superstructure when they think about maintenance of the high level bridge.
The concrete piers have also been rehabilitated and repaired at last once and what you see today isn’t even the original piers - those are hidden behind the last repairs which banded and them covered them over. I have no idea what their condition might or might not be today nor that of any of the underlying foundations.
chrisvazquez7
Active Member
I think I heard that nearly half the mass of some of the steel pieces has been lost from rust. That’s not really something you can repair. That steel is gone forever. The problem is CP hardly (if ever) painted it, allowing rust to eat away at the steel. I believe the city has done what they can to maintain it since buying it, but it will never be as robust as it was when it was first built and it will only become more and more expensive to maintain.
yeggator
Active Member
It’s probably the same situation as with rusted car parts. If rust has eaten away HALF of the steel, it’s definitely infiltrated the remainder of the steel (rust is a cancer for metal) and it’s only a matter of time before it’s all eaten up. The only true option to restore the integrity is wholesale cutting off all the metal that’s even somewhat rusted and welding fresh steel in place.