New Bridge over a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge is a new crossing of the Rideau Canal and the Rideau River in Ottawa, Canada. The Rideau Canal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and as such the requirements for any new crossing of the canal are particularly demanding. Care must be taken to design and construct such a bridge in such a manner as to be compatible with the UNESCO designation. A very wide deck (50m) was developed to accept the vehicular, bicycle and foot traffic needed. The design process resulted in the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge being designed to include three overhead steel trussed arches with a view to providing a delightful and interesting user experience. The bridge design has received enthusiastic acceptance and the bridge is now under construction. The paper focuses on the design methods and processes by which this bridge was conceived and detailed.