Ontario Highway 417 Photographs - Page 3 - History of Ontario's Kings Highways

Left - Facing south along Island Park Drive towards Hwy 417 Underpass in Ottawa
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Close-up of the Island Park Drive Underpass. The old structure was completed in 1959, but was replaced in August 2007 using a new procedure known as Rapid Bridge Replacement Technology. This was the very first time that this technology was used to remove a bridge from service in Canada. Rapid Bridge Replacement Technology has been used successfully to replace bridges in the United States and in Europe over the past several years.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Two new Island Park Drive spans were constructed in a fenced staging area located in adjacent Hampton Park during the first half of 2007. The existing 1959 spans were removed from Hwy 417 and these new spans installed during a 16-hour replacement project.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The new Island Park Drive spans are steel beam structures, quite similar in design to the old bridge. However, the new spans have a much longer design life of 75 years. The beams of the new structure are coated with a stainless steel plating to delay oxidation and rusting. The steel reinforcing rods (re-bar) in the concrete deck have been coated with a special epoxy to prevent premature corrosion.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Southern side of the Island Park Drive Bridge. The bridge is comprised of two separate spans that are situated directly beside each other. The old 1959 spans will be removed using a Self-Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT). Here, the SPMT is already in place to hoist the eastbound Hwy 417 span off of its abutments.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The 216-wheel SPMT has a series of large hoists to raise the old 1959 span off of the abutments. The SPMT will then be used to transport the new 2007 span to the bridge site.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 8:04 pm: Hwy 417 is closed to all traffic. An excavator moves in to dig out the ends of the 1959 spans from the bridge abutments
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Another view of the eastbound Hwy 417 span over Island Park Drive. By 8:30 pm, a large crowd had gathered to watch this widely-publicized bridge replacement project unfold. The official viewing area was on the northern side of the Queensway, but the southern side provided a much closer vantage point.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 8:30 pm: View of the bridge deck, showing the excavation of aggregate from behind the abutments
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - 8:32 pm: The sparks fly as workers use giant saws to sever decommissioned utility conduits and re-bar
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 9:14 pm: With the span now just resting on the abutments, the SPMT operator prepares to hoist up the span. The steel beams of the span are chained down to the SPMT to prevent the span from shifting during transport.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - 9:51 pm: After several safety checks, the 600-tonne span begins to raise off the abutments
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 10:01 pm: Engineers inspect the span to ensure that the span was raised high enough to clear the bearings which line the top of the abutment wall
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - 10:08 pm: With the inspection complete, the SPMT operator is given the go-ahead to move the span once the road is clear. The westbound Hwy 417 span was already being moved out of the way at the moment this photo was taken.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 10:33 pm: The move begins! With the westbound span now relocated, the eastbound span starts to roll away on the SPMT.
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - 10:34 pm: The moving process is monitored very carefully by spotters stationed in several positions around the structure
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 10:37 pm: As the eastbound span moves out of the way, workers rush in to quickly replace the bearings
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - 10:39 pm: The eastbound span quickly glides away, as the bearing replacement continues
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 10:42 pm: After a mere 9 minutes, the eastbound span has moved about 20 metres from its original location
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - With the new bearings installed, the abutments are now ready to accommodate the new 2007 span
(Photograph taken on August 11, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 12:24 am: Both 1959 spans are now gone, leaving an open gap in which to install the new 2007 spans
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The SPMT carries the eastbound 1959 span off to the staging area. The old structures will be demolished.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - The closed Ottawa Queensway is bathed in an eerie, unbroken orange light. On a normal Saturday night, this highway would see a large amount of traffic.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing west towards the Island Park Bridge site. The orange glow from the Queensway light standards is only interrupted by the headlights of an occasional construction vehicle passing on the closed highway below.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - 12:24 am: Once the SPMT has placed the old 1959 span in the staging area, the new 2007 span will be picked up from the staging area and moved into position for installation. Compare this photo with the one to the right, taken from the same location several hours later.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - The new 2007 spans were installed during the night, and by 9:00 am, were ready to begin their new service life
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Another view of the new Island Park Drive Underpass, taken only hours after installation
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Facing east along a closed Hwy 417 towards Parkdale Avenue Interchange during the Island Park Drive project
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Facing west along Hwy 417 towards Island Park Drive. The highway was closed for about 16 hours.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Workers apply a new coat of asphalt on top of the bridge and the abutments
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Deck view of the new eastbound structure, taken at 12 Noon. One eastbound highway lane was opened only minutes earlier.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - One westbound lane was opened at approximately 1 pm, just slightly behind schedule. Here, sprayers are removing construction debris from the new westbound structure so that all lanes can be reopened.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Above Photos - The westbound and eastbound 1959 structures are now contained in the staging area and will be demolished. The Island Park Drive Rapid Bridge Replacement Project was a major success and a fascinating engineering accomplishment. The completion of this project in a mere 16 hours is truly remarkable, as it would have taken two years of complex staging and lengthy lane closures to replace these structures using conventional methods. This technology will certainly be used again in the future as more Ontario freeway structures come up for replacement.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Left - Northern side of the Island Park Drive Overpass, showing the newly-installed 2007 span
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)

Right - Moments after this photo was taken at 12:40 pm, the new Island Park Drive Underpass was opened. I was fortunate enough to be the very first person to drive through the new Island Park Underpass after the road reopened to public travel.
(Photograph taken on August 12, 2007 - © Cameron Bevers)