Columbia River Skywalk

Description

The Colombia River Skyway is one of the largest suspension bridges of its kind in North America, spanning the Columbia River from Rotary Park to McQuarrie Street. Once made of steel and concrete, this century old bridge (formerly a vehicle bridge) was in desperate need of replacement. The City of Trail decided to construct a new and innovative Skywalk which included room for foot traffic, a cycling route and a 4-Track emergency vehicle with a trailer.

To meet the requirements of this project, the City of Trail’s designer contacted Composite Advantage. The engineer determined that lightweight FiberSPAN panels were the ideal solution for this application.

Graham Infrastructure was selected to build the bridge. The deck panels had several unique features including varying geometry, crowned surface and curbs and drainage scuppers. Composite Advantage’s lightweight prefabricated panels, made to fit and accommodate nearly any design obstacle, provided for the timeliest and simplest installation. Using FRP led to installation savings as well as life cycle cost savings due to its durability. This made FRP the best value and solution for this project.