Location:
The Government of Canada required a reliable access link between the mainland and Prince Edward Island. The link needed to span the 8-mile (12.9 km) wide Northumberland Strait and provide access through all seasons and weather conditions. Officially opened on May 31, 1997, the Confederation Bridge is the world’s longest continuous marine span bridge. It forms an integral part of the Trans Canada Highway, connecting Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick with Borden, Prince Edward Island.
The Confederation Bridge crosses the Northumberland Strait at its narrowest point, with a water depth across the strait varying from 10 to 25 m. Because of the harsh northern climate, the designers were challenged to maximize the time available for component fabrication and to minimize the time required for marine erection. The unique terrestrial and marine environments surrounding the project site necessitated that both design and construction methods were developed to ensure an environmentally friendly bridge.
Working as part of a consortium for the Confederation Bridge, Earth Tech was the designer of record and completed the preliminary and final engineering and the construction engineering.
The Confederation Bridge replaces the century-old ferry system. Designed with a 100-year life span, it carries two lanes of traffic, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across the ice-covered waters of the Northumberland Strait.
