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A third Fraser River crossing
The Pattullo Bridge replacement, connecting the communities of Surrey and New Westminster in Canada, is the latest major crossing of the Fraser River to be constructed using mageba key components
One of mageba’s first major projects in British Columbia was supplying the extraordinary bearings and expansion joints required in the construction of the Golden Ears Bridge in 2008. This was followed by the supply of the special expansion joints required for the new Port Mann Bridge in 2012. Both of these structures cross the Fraser River in or near Vancouver, and a third cable-supported bridge is now joining this list: the Pattullo Bridge replacement, which is currently being built just upstream and northeast of the existing bridge which was built in 1937.
The Pattullo Bridge replacement has a cable-stayed design with a single tower and a length of 4,025 ft (1,227 m). Due to its location in a region that can experience earthquakes, the bridge requires bearings and expansion joints that can accommodate large seismic movements. To meet the structure’s needs, mageba has supplied a range of bearings including LASTO®LRB lead rubber bearings, RESTON®POT bearings and RESTON®SPHERICAL bearings – 113 bearings in total.
To meet their exceptional needs, the LASTO®LRB lead rubber bearings were designed with diameters of up to 1.5 m (approx. 5 ft) – some of them with two lead cores. These bearings were tested at -14°C (7°F) to simulate winter conditions.
The RESTON®SPHERICAL bearings at the main tower were designed to be integrated in shear keys, installed “vertically” in order to resist transverse movements of the superstructure while still accommodating longitudinal structure movements. Considering their vertical orientation, these bearings were designed with a special spring system to hold them together and ensure that they remain in constant compression.
Another special requirement was for a number of the LRB bearings to be designed to accommodate longitudinal sliding movements during the construction stage but to be adaptable to make them resist all horizontal movements before the bridge is opened to traffic.
With this third wonderful structure crossing the Fraser now also relying on mageba key components, the Vancouver area of British Columbia will always have a special place in our hearts at mageba.
Bridge designer: HATCH and LAP
Contractor: Fraser Crossing Constructors General Partnership
Owner: Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure of British Columbia
