News story starts here

A proposal to build a smart-technology bridge across the Saanich Inlet is in its early phases.

Duncan’s Mary Dougherty, a geographic information system analyst and her father, Victoria’s Stephen Pattison, a geographer, are among the advocates of building a one-kilometre long cable-stayed bridge across the Finlayson Arm section of the inlet.

The main intention of the bridge project would be to provide an alternative to using the unpredictable Malahat route, the main connector between the Victoria region and the rest of Vancouver Island, that is frequently shut down due to accidents and other issues.

Proponents are also advocating for the construction of 11 kilometres of new roadway, in addition to the bridge, that would connect existing roadways to the bridge and allow the Malahat route to be bypassed.

Travel distances would be reduced by as much as 32 kilometres.

Click here to sign-up and receive the Weekly Round Up in your inbox every Saturday

The proposed bridge would be built 300 feet above the waters of the inlet and would support a four-lane traffic deck and a pedestrian lower deck.

Pattison and Dougherty envision that the bridge also be a power-generating station that would have long arrays of solar collectors and wind generators on the structure, while the bridge foundations at water level can be designed to harness tidal flow and tide-height energy as well.

According to the proposal, the collection of bridge tolls, the sale of the electricity and the realignment of freight rates, travel time, and fuel savings would all contribute to a major economic impact across the region.

Smart technology bridges have been built in other places in the world.

Keep reading on vicnews.com

 

Never miss the Construction Links Network news – Subscribe to the Weekly Round Up e-newsletter which will be delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. Join over 8,000 professionals from the construction, building and design community and sign-up today!