b'PROJECT PROFILEOVER TROUBLED WATERSREBUILDING MERRITTS MIDDLESBORO BRIDGEBY JAMES PETERSI t was a weather event for theJones is among the Emil Andersonand from above the river, Jones explains. records. In 2021, extreme rainfallConstruction team that led the efforts toIt also meant we wouldnt have to drive and flooding hit communities in Britishdemolish the previous damaged bridgepiles into the centre of the river to de-water Columbia, resulting in lost lives, displacedand design and construct a replacementand cause major impact to the river.families and nearly $650 million inthat would once again connect Merritts damages. The City of Merritt was amongCollettville neighbourhood to downtown.Being quicker to build was another the communities to be swept up in theAnd from the outset, its goal was clear: toadvantage. While the design required emergency, and its people have been inbuild back higher, stronger and smarter. installing heavy-duty girders to span the process of rebuilding ever since. And70 metres, it would negate the need in November 2024, three years after theEnvironmental impact was a keyto enter the river during construction floods, the city celebrated a milestone in itsconsideration during the projects design.and contribute to a faster overall restoration efforts with the opening of theThe City of Merritt consulted withconstruction process.new Middlesboro Bridge. First Nations communities on how to move forward with the demolition andBuilding back smarter meant designing a The Middlesboro Bridge was half layingconstruction work with minimal impactbridge that would withstand increasingly in the Coldwater River and became such aon the river and its fisheries. Their insightssevere weather events for years to come. powerful symbol of the tragedy, along withinformed Emil Andersons decision to optUnderstanding this, Emil Anderson all the damaged properties and other losses,for a clear-span structure without a centreConstruction began by collaborating with says Kyle Jones, senior project manager withpier, thereby enabling greater water flowhydrologists to model the optimal bridge Emil Anderson Construction. It felt likeand minimizing the bridges impact on theheight required to mitigate peak river so much was broken, but then seeing thatColdwater Rivers aquatic ecosystem.flows over the next 200 years. This data bridge getting rebuiltso quickly and soinformed a final design that promoted strategicallyhas become kind of a symbolThe single-span option allowed us to stayboth long-term resiliency and incorporated of what a resilient community can do whenout of the wetted perimeter of the river andvariance to keep the project within its it puts its mind to it. do most of the construction from the banks$15-million budget.SICA CONSTRUCTION REVIEWFall 202531'