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Craigflower Bridge project wins sustainability award

Project designers lauded for their respectful treatment of Gorge Waterway in View Royal and Saanich
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The Craigflower Bridge

The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction has awarded its top prize for 2015 in sustainability to the Craigflower Bridge project.

The awards, held every two years, celebrate steel in construction and the innovation and ingenuity of those who build with it, according to Ed Whalen, president of CISC.

“I think all building materials are trying to show their sustainability,” he said, “and that’s a good thing. It’s really where the economy and society needs to go,” adding that they need to play a role in that and continue to educate the community about how steel meets those long-term sustainability needs.

Mike Herold, president of Herold Engineering, said the 120-metre span had to be “more than just a bridge project.”

“This was something special,” he said. “This was the Gorge waterway. It’s a very historic site, and we needed a bridge design that did justice to (it).”

Herold said they could have produced a cheaper bridge and constructed it more quickly with less disruption to the public, but he’s happy that the Vierindeel arched truss design they had in mind was the one that came out of the public consultation process. “I don’t think that would have done the site justice.”

The bridge opened in May of 2014 and connects View Royal to the District of Saanich.

“It’s been a tremendous success,” said View Royal mayor David Screech. “We get constant feedback from cyclists and pedestrians on how much they’re enjoying it more than the old one,” adding the businesses in the area are “thrilled to have that renewed connection to Saanich.”

For more on the bridge project, check out the blog that ran during the project at craigflowerbridge.wordpress.com., simply click off the expired domain name to access it.

mdavies@goldstreamgazette.com