bridge work, and employees are trying to
come up with strategies to maintain the
bridges farther into the future, which will
mean less annual strain on the capital-
replacement bottomline.
Alberta had funded bridge projects from its
inception in 1905 until 2013, before
changing course.
A suggestion from the provincial level over
the last several years has been that Alberta’s
road network is over-expanded and has too
many bridges as it is, so municipalities are
being asked to prioritize them, and, when
their life expectancy is over, remove them.
The idea on the surface generates instantly
negative feedback from local residents,
Morrison said, but it’s somewhat more
manageable because bridges these days are
being engineered to last 100 years, rather
than35.
“It definitely affects the service levels of
taxpayers in the province of Alberta – being
able to cross streams and rivers, and then
not being able to cross them in the future,”
Morrison said.
“It’s pretty nice for someone in the
legislature inEdmonton to say that, but it’s a
little different when it’s out here in the
actual grassroots of Alberta. Hopefully we
can build bridges that take less maintenance
and will last longer, so that will bring up the
curve a little bit better into the future.”
Elsewhere, the county is intently focused on
a project intended to deal with erosion
along the Red Deer River, which has been
significant in the last few years as the river
36 | BusinessWorld |
July-August 2014
BOW VALLEY
BRIDGE SERVICES
LTD
Bow Valley Bridge Services Ltd was incorporated in
2009 and is owned and operated by Garry Roberts, a
Class A Bridge Inspector with over 34 years of
experience. We offer general bridge consulting
services, including Level 1 and 2 inspections, training,
assessments, tender preparation and contract site
supervision.
We also provide professional engineering services,
and we frequently partner with various engineering
firms and municipalities providing inspection and
general bridge consulting services.
114 Riverview Green Cochrane,
AB T4C 1K2 Canada
Phone: 403-851-9100 | Cell: 403-850-1330 | Fax: 403-851-9190
