Bridge Management
Maintaining essential County infrastructure
Lac Ste. Anne County is home to more than two hundred bridges of various size and structure.
Compared to its municipal neighbours, the County manages a relatively large number of timber bridges. These vital County assets are maintained by the Infrastructure department via its Bridge Asset Management Program.
Bridge & Culvert Management Documents
The Bridge Replacement Program includes upgrades, improvements and potential replacements to select bridge structures.
Our annual Bridge Replacement Program includes upgrades, improvements and replacement (where required) to select bridge structures within our municipal boundaries.
Lac Ste. Anne County manages 217 bridge structures, and they're classified as follows:
- 72 standard bridges (short-span timber or concrete bridges)
- 133 bridge-sized culverts (barrel diameters > 1.5 meters)
- 12 major bridges (steel girder, long-span concrete and truss)
Many County Bridges are Built of Wood
A significant amount of our timber bridges were constructed between 1950 and 1960. The typical service life of a bridge is between 45 and 60 years.
Based on the engineered service life of these bridges, coupled with requirements cited by the Municipal Government Act and Highways Development and Protection Act, it is projected that 50% of the County's bridge structures will need to be replaced or repaired within the next ten to fifteen years.
Current and Historical Bridge Repair Programs
Until 2012, the County received significant Provincial grants to support the ongoing capital maintenance of its bridge infrastructure. Between 2012 and 2017, however, Lac Ste. Anne County received absolutely no provincial funding to support its bridge maintenance program.
This lapse in funding caused severe maintenance deficiencies that eventually resulted in load restrictions and closed bridges. This funding lapse was typical for many municipalities in rural Alberta; it was not unique to Lac Ste. Anne County.
Roadway | Project | Start Date | End Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Bridge – RR100 South of TWP570 | Bridge Rehabilitation (BF13333) | March 31, 2020 | April 14, 2020 | Complete |
Tributary to the Pembina River East of RR62 on TWP 565 | Bridge Rehabilitation (BF13733) | Complete | Complete | Complete |
Little Paddle River on RR73 North of TWP573 | Bridge Rehabilitation (BF1301) | Complete | Complete | Complete |
Tributary to the Pembina River on RR43 Between TWP563 & TWP 564 | Bridge Rehabilitation (BF9965) | Complete | Complete | Complete |
Little Paddle River west of RR81 on TWP575 | Bridge Rehabilitation (BF13233) | December 10, 2019 | December 17, 2019 | Complete |
Tributary to the Pembina RiverSE18-57-4-W5 | Bridge Rehabilitation (BF72270) | Complete | ||
Bridge - Sturgeon River on RR25 North of TWP551 | Bridge Rehabilitation (BF7483) | January 20, 2020 | January 27, 2020 | Complete |
Bridge – Sturgeon River on RR15 South of TWP550 | Bridge Rehabilitation (BF8817) | March 9, 2020 | March 20, 2020 | Complete |
How Provincial Funding Impacts Bridge Maintenance
Until 2012, the County received significant provincial grants to support the ongoing capital maintenance of its bridge infrastructure. Between 2012 and 2017, however, the County was given absolutely no provincial funding to support its bridge maintenance program. This lapse in funding caused severe maintenance deficiencies that eventually resulted in load restrictions and closed bridges.
In 2016, the County tendered and repaired seven bridges. Three critical bridges were opened to traffic at the end of December 2016, and the balance of the work was completed mid-March 2017. The total cost of this project was roughly $1 Million.
In 2017, the provincial grant program was reintroduced as a competitive application process. Presently, however, grant funding amounts to just $37 million each year, and is intended for local road bridge maintenance projects across the entire province. This same year, County Council adopted a long-range bridge infrastructure plan, which included 23 bridge projects at a cost of $3.3 million over the next ten years. The County retains a bridge engineering consultant to assess the condition of bridge structures. Based on inspections, priority projects are identified for major repairs or replacement and referred to in the capital budget.
In 2016, the County purchased two portable bridge structures to help maintain transportation routes when bridges undergo major reconstruction. The 2016 capital included major repairs or reconstruction of 8 bridge structures. This $1.6 million expenditure in County infrastructure was funded in large part by the Federal Gas Tax Fund; a grant that provides predictable, long-term, stable funding that helps municipalities build and revitalize local public infrastructure while creating jobs and long-term prosperity.
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