CHURCHILL RIVER BRIDGE

The Churchill River Bridge is the largest bridge in the Trans Labrador Highway, which will link the giant hydro-electric projects in the interior of Labrador with the coast at the Strait of Belle Isle, and the ferry link to Newfoundland. The Bailey style, cantilever bridge was assembled on land and then pulled over the river with special purpose machinery.

"This naturally dulling and varied color of galvanized structural steel blends much better intothe wild natural environment than a monotone artificial looking paint coating. Itis also certainly a better choice environmentally because in does not need regular maintenance such as blasting for paint systems that can contaminate the river andsurrounding wild life."

The province of Newfoundland specifies hot-dip galvanizing as their preferred corrosion protection method because of its longevity. On this project, the Government of Newfoundland specified hot-dip galvanizing because of the abrasiveness of the installation technique, as well as the sub-arctic location. Hot-dip galvanized steel is ideal for this location because it can withstand the harsh environment with little or no maintenance. The 2,000 tons of steel were galvanized in just over a month to meet the tight delivery schedule required by the severely limited construction season.

The bridge comprised three spans in excess of 122 meters (400 feet) each, as well as about 805 meters (0.5 miles) of approach causeways. The galvanized bridge complements the natural environment without compromising it, as other systems have the potential to do because of their maintenance requirements. Galvanizing the Churchill River Bridge ensures this important facet of the Trans Labrador Highway will be effective and maintenance-free for many years.