April 25, 2007

Award of Excellence in Innovation

UMA ENGINEERING

The new twin bridges use the second-generation Steel Free Deck (SFD) slab system, which is devoid of internal steel reinforcement, and contains nominal non-metallic and corrosion resistance Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars.

UMA wins Award for work on twin Red River floodway bridges

WINNIPEG

On April 13, UMA received an Award of Excellence in Innovation at the Consulting Engineers of Manitoba Awards of Excellence for its work on the “Twin Red River Floodway Bridges on Trans Canada Highway No. 1 East”.

The goal of the Manitoba Floodway expansion project is to accommodate a one in 700 year flood, which requires changes to the 12 existing bridges that presently cross the floodway.

The Manitoba Floodway Authority retained UMA’s Winnipeg office to provide detailed design and contract administration services for the new twin, three-lane, 349 m Red River Floodway bridges on TransCanada Highway, located east of Winnipeg.

The new twin bridges use the second-generation Steel Free Deck (SFD) slab system, which is devoid of internal steel reinforcement, and contains nominal non-metallic and corrosion resistance Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (GFRP) bars.

To monitor the performance of the SFD system, a Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) system was installed on one of the twin bridges to diagnose the condition of the deck slab and ensure it is performing as planned. The SFD system makes the bridges less susceptible to corrosion and increases their load carrying capacity, while the SHM system helps ensure that safety and integrity are not compromised. The project was completed within a very tight schedule and under budget, while maximizing the safety of the travelling public during construction.

“We were particularly impressed with UMA’s ability to deliver the design and tender document in an extremely short period of time, and to a very high quality,” said Ruth Eden, Manager of Design and Contracts, Bridges and Transportation, Manitoba Floodway Authority.

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