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considerable savings in the amount of truss reinforcement required, while providing sufficient mass and stiffness for damping purposes. At the same time the guard rails (traffic barriers) were replaced over the entire length of the bridge, with the new guard rails set inside the main bridge trusses to better protect them from vehicle impact. Unfortunately, this made the new bridge deck too narrow to retain the sidewalks, so they were not replaced. However, this modification did result in wider traffic lanes. The overall cost of the bridge deck reconstruction was $ 15 million. There are now "No pedestrian traffic" signs on each end of the bridge.
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leaving the other deck in place so the bridge could continue to be used for vehicular traffic. Construction was completed with minimal traffic disruptions, and the bridge remained open to single lane traffic throughout construction, with the exception of three, six-hour overnight closures planned per week. This project added several decades to the useful life of the bridge.
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On April 20, 2004, it was announced the Seal Island Bridge
Reconstruction Project had won the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Engineering Excellence. The Department of Transportation and Public Works shared the honours with consultants CBCL Limited of Halifax for the major overhaul of the province's
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A major deck replacement project was undertaken. Over the next three years, the original cast-in-place concrete bridge deck was removed and replaced using full-depth, precast, prestressed, half-deck width concrete panels. It was necessary to complete one lane at a time, starting with the south lane,
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The bridge crosses part of the channel on a causeway connecting the north shore of the channel to Seal Island, a small wooded island. The structure consists of eight steel box truss spans, three simply supported 76.2 m (250 ft) approach spans, two simply-supported 76.2 m (250 ft)
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The new high performance precast concrete deck system is much more durable than conventional systems since it is less permeable and crack-free under service load conditions. The deck system adopted is significantly lighter than a conventional cast-in-place concrete deck system. This has resulted in
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By 2001, it was found the existing cast-in-place concrete bridge deck was in poor condition. Forty years of wear and tear from traffic as well as exposure to wind and salt spray necessitated a major overhaul of the Seal Island Bridge. The road deck needed complete replacement, and the steel truss
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project. The bridge, officially known as the Great Bras d'Or
Crossing, was completed in 1961 at a cost of $ 4,652,850. The construction of 23 kilometres (14 mi) of approach roads increased the total cost of the project to about $ 6 million. The bridge is a crucial link in the Trans Canada
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For political reasons, it was decided to place the bridge halfway between the two ferry services on account of an outcry by communities fearing the loss of their transportation links. This required an extensive modification to the Trans-Canada
Highway route on the eastern slope of
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splay spans, and a three-span continuous main span that consists of two 106.68 m (350 ft) side spans and a 152.4 m (500 ft) centre arch span. The steel structure is supported on tall reinforced concrete piers, armoured with cut stone at the waterline.
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will stop high-sided vehicles at the bridge and inform they cannot cross. At times as many as 15 to 20 transport trucks can be lined up, waiting for conditions to improve so they can make the crossing.
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Due to the bridge's height and location in a deep valley that can funnel winds, the Seal Island Bridge occasionally is closed to high-sided vehicles such as
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work needed reinforcement. Engineers thoroughly inspected the rest of the bridge structure and found it to be sound and safe.
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678:"Project of the Month: September 2002 - Seal Island Precast Concrete Bridge Deck Replacement, Cape Breton, NS"
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Boularderie Island
Historical Society - Photos of the Seal Island Bridge Under Construction, 1960
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The Seal Island Bridge, viewed from the Bras d'Or look off on Kelly's
Mountain
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services crossing the Great Bras d'Or; one at the northeastern end between
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and was originally constructed with a pedestrian sidewalk on each side.
756:. Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
655:. Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
577:. Nova Scotia Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal
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The location of the bridge had proven controversial. It replaced two
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Construction of the Seal Island Bridge began in 1960 as part of the
597:"Harbourside Engineering Consultants Seal Island Emergency Repair"
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701:"Transport truck crashes on Cape Breton's Seal Island Bridge"
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622:"Seal Island Bridge gets repair to failed truss component"
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Buildings and structures in
Victoria County, Nova Scotia
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The Seal Island Bridge as seen from
Boularderie Island.
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Reinforced concrete, faced with stone at the waterline
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368:design and crosses the Great Bras d'Or channel of
680:. Canadian Precast Prestressed Concrete Institute
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357:. It is the third longest bridge span in the
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729:. Sydney, NS: SaltWire Network. 4 April 2019
754:"Seal Island Bridge Reconstruction Project"
454:, and the other at the southwestern end at
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1087:Transport in Victoria County, Nova Scotia
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254:36 m (118 ft) at centre-span
778:Structurae: Seal Island Bridge (1961)
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783:Highway Cameras - Seal Island Bridge
541:passing under the Seal Island Bridge
1097:Bridges on the Trans-Canada Highway
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823:List of bridges in North America
699:Burke, David (27 November 2019).
936:Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
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322:7,500 vehicles/day, peak periods
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1107:Through arch bridges in Canada
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209:716.28 m (2,350 ft)
1061:United States Virgin Islands
703:. CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC News
575:"Bridge Birthday Celebrated"
299:ferry service at Ross Ferry/
291:2001-2004 (Deck replacement)
121:Victoria County, Nova Scotia
1082:Road bridges in Nova Scotia
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601:harboursideengineering.com
225:152.4 m (500 ft)
1102:Bridges completed in 1961
1036:Saint Pierre and Miquelon
553:List of bridges in Canada
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67:46.2341222°N 60.4924389°W
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1056:Turks and Caicos Islands
135:Great Bras d'Or Crossing
96:Trans-Canada Highway 105
380:on the south side with
349:is a bridge located in
72:46.2341222; -60.4924389
986:British Virgin Islands
513:The Seal Island Bridge
496:third largest bridge.
926:Saint Kitts and Nevis
653:"Bridge Fix A Winner"
421:Closures due to wind
398:Trans-Canada Highway
16:Canadian road bridge
941:Trinidad and Tobago
836:Antigua and Barbuda
388:on the north side.
192:Reinforced concrete
187:Trough construction
167:Through arch bridge
62: /
876:Dominican Republic
386:Cape Breton Island
378:Boularderie Island
374:Boularderie Centre
347:Seal Island Bridge
264:Construction start
143:Seal Island Bridge
125:Boularderie Island
117:Cape Breton Island
78:Seal Island Bridge
25:Seal Island Bridge
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958:other territories
628:. 26 October 2006
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272:Construction cost
198:Pier construction
171:Truss arch bridge
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956:Dependencies and
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1051:Sint Maarten
1031:Saint Martin
758:. Retrieved
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392:Construction
366:through arch
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222:Longest span
206:Total length
54:46°14′2.84″N
18:
1021:Puerto Rico
931:Saint Lucia
881:El Salvador
456:Big Harbour
438:Controversy
411:Highway 105
355:Nova Scotia
301:Big Harbour
275:$ 4,652,850
70: /
44:Coordinates
1076:Categories
1016:Montserrat
1011:Martinique
1006:Guadeloupe
861:Costa Rica
559:References
460:Ross Ferry
382:New Harris
312:Statistics
190:Steel and
76: (
1001:Greenland
916:Nicaragua
891:Guatemala
966:Anguilla
901:Honduras
871:Dominica
846:Barbados
632:13 March
547:See also
539:Algoport
359:province
335:Location
296:Replaces
233:of spans
177:Material
123:–
996:Curaçao
981:Bonaire
976:Bermuda
906:Jamaica
886:Grenada
841:Bahamas
733:10 July
707:10 July
606:3 March
537:The MV
500:Gallery
407:Baddeck
288:Rebuilt
259:History
217:2 lanes
103:Crosses
91:Carries
921:Panama
911:Mexico
856:Canada
851:Belize
491:Awards
403:Sydney
280:Opened
163:Design
113:Locale
971:Aruba
896:Haiti
760:6 May
684:6 May
659:6 May
581:6 May
444:ferry
214:Width
181:Steel
1041:Saba
866:Cuba
762:2012
735:2020
709:2020
686:2012
661:2012
634:2022
608:2022
583:2012
431:RCMP
405:and
345:The
330:none
327:Toll
303:and
283:1961
267:1960
626:CBC
231:No.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
