Innovative Expansion Joint Replacement for Burlington Bay Skyway

The innovative expansion joint replacement design for the Burlington Bay Skyway Northbound Structure in Hamilton, Ontario resulted in substantial economic and social benefits. The existing modular expansion joints were distressed and at the end of their service lives. Joint replacement was complicated by several constraints, including high traffic volumes, limited detour options, a restriction against full closures of the bridge, a moratorium by the client agency on splicing modular joint assemblies, and the limited available load capacity of the structure. The bridge articulation was modified and the existing breather joints were mobilized to reduce movement at 16 modular expansion joints. This allowed these joints to be successfully replaced with an innovative prefabricated module expansion joint assembly incorporating a single strip seal. The design minimized traffic closures and disturbance to the public, while also realizing substantial cost savings.