Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation needed to replace an overpass in Winnipeg without inconveniencing the public. To do so, we demolished existing overpass structures and replaced them with two span box-girder bridges. The 40-meter box girders were the longest girders erected in Manitoba to-date.

We conducted a detailed excavation at the overpass’ central pier to eliminate the need for shoring, an approach that reduced construction costs. We cut the formwork for the central pier to exact dimensions using CNC machinery, which uses pre-programmed software to guide the formwork creation.

The concrete deck and pier diaphragm were cast as one piece, which required us to form the underside of the pier in a way that could be removed after the decks were placed atop. We used sand to form a void between the pier cap and pier diaphragm, and then removed the sand with compressed air after the concrete had cured. We also assembled the pier formwork on the ground ahead of time, which allowed us to shorten the overall schedule by two weeks.

For Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation and PCL, working together for the betterment of a project has been the norm on nearly 50 collaborations over the past 30 years. These range from bridges and office spaces to the campus of the University College of the North in Thompson and upgrades to the Manitoba Legislative Building.