Edmonton's High Level Bridge due for rehab by 2025, city engineers say
Extending bridge's life by 25 years could cost $135M to $270M
One of Edmonton's most iconic structures, the High Level Bridge, needs an major overhaul to extend its life for another 25 years — or the city could replace it, a new report says.
City engineers estimate an extensive rehabilitation will cost between $135 and $270 million, the report says, with construction likely starting in 2025.
The bridge is about 110 years old and was last refurbished in 1995.
"Every 25 to 30 years, most infrastructure will need some TLC," said Pascale Ladouceur, manager of the city's infrastructure planning and design branch. "So there's some interventions that we need to do to maintain it in good working condition."
The main deck needs work on the surface and below the asphalt, parts of the steel trusses need to be replaced or recoated and the concrete piers at the base need repair, Ladouceur said.
"Anyone walking across the bridge probably has noticed that there's a protective coating that's peeling off in some areas," she said.
The bridge is 777 metres long, has two decks with the railway streetcar on top, and links 109th Street from downtown to the south side of the river.
Three options
The city report outlines three options for the bridge: repair rather than replace components, giving the bridge another 15 years; a full rehabilitation while expanding or upgrading the top deck and the narrow east-side shared-use path; or build a second bridge alongside the existing one, or replace it altogether.
City administration recommend the second option.
The city has looked at replacing the bridge, in part to accommodate more mass transit in the future, Ladouceur said.
It would be double the cost of rehabilitation, but would save on maintenance and repairs 50 years down the road, she said.
The city also considers the historic relevance of the infrastructure.
"It's an important piece of Edmonton," Ladouceur said. "It's an icon."
'Spirit of the bridge'
The bridge was a key factor in amalgamating the City of Strathcona with the City of Edmonton in 1912, said city archivist Kathryn Ivany.
It was the only bridge in Canada at the time to carry four modes of transportation: rail, streetcar, vehicles and pedestrian/cyclists, and it eliminated the need for ferries on the North Saskatchewan River, she said.
"The ideal is minimal intervention," Ivany said. "So anything that's replaced would still have to maintain the spirit of the bridge, as well as the design elements to keep it as authentic as possible to the original."
The bridge is protected by provincial and federal historic designation.
Demolishing the bridge would require the city to repeal its designation under the municipal historic resource bylaw, the report says.
Top deck options
The report includes input from the High Level Line Society, which envisions a multi-use pathway on the bridge's upper deck.
The idea aligns with the city's long-term goals to connect all quadrants of the city, develop high-quality active transportation networks and make these more accessible, Ladouceur said.
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Council's executive committee is scheduled to review the report at a meeting on April 13.
If councillors accept the rehabilitation recommendation, administration would need to nail down the cost before presenting it to council in November, ahead of the 2023-2026 capital budget cycle.