Port Mann Bridge, Highway 1 Project

The design-build project was part of British Columbia’s Gateway Program to address Greater Vancouver’s current and future transportation needs.

At 2 kilometres long with a 470-metre-long main span and 52-metre-wide deck, the Port Mann Bridge is one of the longest cable-stayed bridges in North America and one of the widest bridges in the world.

The Port Mann Bridge/Highway 1 project included the 10-lane signature bridge, the south approach in Surrey, and the north approach in Coquitlam. A barrier-separated, 3-metre-wide bicycle-pedestrian path was included on the east side of the crossing, creating a new connection across the Fraser River for bicyclists and pedestrians.

TYLin’s bridge design features two, dramatic, single mast concrete towers, which rise 160 metres over the river and house anchorages for the four planes of cables. The stay-cable system incorporates 288 cables that would extend about 45 kilometres if laid end to end.

The superstructure consists of two five-lane decks, separated by a 10-metre median where the central pylons are located. Each roadway is supported by two planes of stay cables.

The structures for the 820-metre-long northern approach and the 360-metre-long southern approach each consist of three precast concrete segmental box girders.

Due to the bridge location in a high seismic region, TYLin conducted rigorous seismic engineering analysis and design for the project. The bridge is founded in deep alluvium soils on 1.82-metre-diametre steel piles offshore and 2.4-metre-diametre concrete shafts onshore. Foundations were all governed by seismic loads.

Project Highlights: 

• Delivery of the bridge design was staged for the foundations, piers, and superstructure work to support construction operations.  
• The initial design package for the main foundations was produced on schedule, allowing main foundation pile driving to meet the in-water work restrictions for fish passage.  
• TYLin was responsible for verifying the design-builder construction quality records and certifying the constructed works prior to operation. 
• Cost-effective span-by-span construction was used for segments over land and longer span-free cantilever construction for segments over water.  
• TYLin performed a comprehensive non-linear soil-structure interaction analysis to verify the efficiency and sufficiency of the firm’s state-of-the-art design for high seismic demands. 

Image credit: Thomas Heinser Studio