The Jack Tennant Memorial Bridge over the Bow River, which will provide another arterial traffic link in town and linking communities across the river with the heart of Cochrane is on pace for its planned 2020 opening.
The town confirmed this week that "construction is on schedule with the bridge being turned over to the town in summer 2020 and (James Walker Trail) open to traffic by Fall 2020."
The second and third deck pours were completed early last Saturday morning.
"Bridge decks are poured in patches: over the open spans first, then over the piers. This is because the weight of the concrete causes the girders to deflect downward. If the deck is poured over the piers before the open spans are poured, the deck will crack above the piers when the open spans move. The girders are installed with an upward camber to compensate for the deflection after the deck is poured resulting in a smooth, flat driving surface," according to the town's Facebook page.
Town administration added the next few major milestones to be achieved are to finish deck pours this week, remove the gravel berm from the river by Sep. 15, install railings this fall and pave the bridge deck next spring.
"Both the bridge and (James Walker Trail) contracts are on budget with a combined estimated cost of $32.5M," said the town. "There have been no major surprises during construction. At the beginning of the project and throughout the design process, a detailed risk registry was maintained and updated. This allowed the project team to anticipate changed conditions and implement planned mitigation measures."
Once completed the new bridge will include on-street bike lanes and a separated, parallel three-metre-wide multi-use pathway that connects with Cochrane’s existing pathway system.
