How long confederation bridge

The Confederation Bridge is The bridge is mostly comprised of high strength concrete and reinforcing steel, and rests on 44 piers that sit at a maximum depth of 35 meters of water. The bridge crosses the Atlantic Ocean over a stretch of water known as the Northumberland Strait.

This particular body of water is well known for the amount of ice that forms on the channel from January to late April of each year, with ice pans measuring up to four kilometers in diameter and one meter thick. Therefore, the piers needed to be designed so that the forces created by the moving ice would not cause the piers to fail, and cause a catastrophic collapse of the bridge structure. However, such a design has never been done before; therefore no design data was available. The following paper will highlight a comparison of the method used to predict the annual ice loads on the bridge piers versus the actual loads generated from the ice as measured by equipment in the piers.

From the shore, one notices that the bridge is not straight but curved. It was designed this way in order to ensure that drivers remain attentive and thus reduce the potential for accidents that, according to experts, happen more often on straight highways or bridges.

For these same reasons of safety, vehicles are not permitted to stop or pass other vehicles while on the bridge. The bridge opened on May 31, , and carries 2 lanes of traffic 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 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 height of construction, 1 span was built every week. Although most of the bridge sits at 40 metres above sea level, it has high points of 60 metres. This height allows large vessels, including cruise ships, to pass under it.

Companies from Canada and around the world contributed to the overall design. The bridge boasts numerous innovative engineering features, such as:. The Confederation Bridge was named in honour of the Charlottetown Conference of This famous conference helped open the way to Confederation just 3 years later.

What better way to commemorate these monumental anniversaries? Photo credit: Strait Crossing Bridge Ltd.