The Galloping Goose Trail is a popular 55 km long Active Transportation path running along a re-purposed former railway right-of-way from Victoria to Sooke, BC. Its beautiful, picturesque route crosses urban infrastructure at various locations. Stantec is currently working on two separate projects to safely allow users to cross busy streets via grade-separated pedestrian bridges. Stantec designed both structures for optimal user enjoyment and safety, while minimizing capital construction costs, ongoing maintenance costs and inconvenience to road users during construction.
The pedestrian bridge in Colwood is being delivered via a Design-Build (D/B) project delivery model and will be a three-span continuous bridge comprising an aesthetically pleasing variable depth box girder with a precast concrete deck and bespoke safety railings with a “reeds and branches” motif. Approaches to the bridge will be Mechanically Stabilized Earth (MSE) ramps with greenwalls to complement the natural surroundings of the bridge. Mid-ramps will allow users to access Sooke Road. The bridge and ramps will have low-energy-consuming LED safety pathway lighting and variable-colour structure highlighting. Stantec accommodated existing civil infrastructure and variable sub-surface geotechnical conditions during the design phase in 2023-204 and construction by Surespan Group of Companies is ongoing in 2025.
The pedestrian bridge in Saanich at Tillicum Road is being delivered via a Design-Bid-Build (DBB) project delivery model and will also be three spans with the center span comprising a tubular steel truss supporting a composite precast concrete deck. Sidespans will comprise precast concrete deck panels supported from below by concrete girders. Grade separating approaches to the bridge will be MSE walls with mid ramps to allow access to Tillicum Road. Construction is expected to take place in 2026.
This presentation will illustrate the key design features of both structures, and the challenges and opportunities faced during their construction, with emphasis on design efforts undertaken to minimize capital construction costs, maintenance costs and user comfort, safety and enjoyment of AT users while minimizing disruption of traffic during construction. We discuss key methodologies used and challenges expected to be encountered during construction.