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Bridge Construction over Creek in Nova Scotia, Canada

Project Name

Dartmouth Crossing Bridge #90

Customer Name
Dartmouth Crossing Ltd.

Design / Specifying Engineer
Stantec Engineering

Block Manufacturer
Stevens Group

Wall Installer
ACL Construction

Project Location
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

Year Built
2006

Project Scope

When a $300 million development was being built in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, the roadway required three bridges to cross over Grassy Creek. The creek is a spawning site for fish and the creek bank hosts walking trails that are part of the trail system in Dartmouth.

Stantec Engineering designed the bridges using the BEBO arch system which combines cast-in-place footings and precast concrete arches. After learning that Redi-Rock could provide zero degree batter wing walls and headwalls to work in conjunction with the BEBO system, Stantec specified Redi-Rock for the job.

The bridge span pictured is 60 feet wide at the base and supports the roadway above while accommodating the stream below as well as a walking trail next to the stream. The other two bridges on the creek have spans of about 40 feet at the base.

The wing walls and headwalls were constructed using Redi-Rock 28 in. series limestone texture blocks reinforced with geogrid. The local Redi-Rock manufacturer, Quality Concrete, produced custom Redi-Rock blocks to integrate with the BEBO arches. A crew of four to six from ACL Construction unloaded the blocks using a 906 Caterpillar loader with forks and installed the blocks using a 20 ton Caterpillar excavator. To finish off the look of the bridge, Redi-Rock freestanding walls were installed, j-bolted in place and capped. The freestanding walls also act as guardrails for the roadway.

Four years later, Dartmouth Crossing was ready to begin construction of Grassy Brook Park adjacent to the bridge. In addition to the trout spawning bed, the whole park area is designed in the outline of a fish. The focal point of Grassy Brook Park is the Pondside Amphitheater, and the seating plan for the amphitheater needed to follow the curving design.

Developers chose to use the same Redi-Rock for seating construction to tie the entire project together. Redi-Rock allows both concave and convex curves to be built using the standard blocks, which was a benefit in this curvy, fish-shaped application.

The amphitheatre seating design called for two courses of block––one buried and one above ground, plus a coordinating concrete cap to finish the look. In total, the amphitheatre utilized 334 m² (3600 square face feet) of Redi-Rock.

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