June 19, 2023
AIL’s second Ultra-Cor highway underpass in Newfoundland and Labrador will soon be underway in the summer and fall of 2023 along a section of the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH) outside St. John’s. When the project is complete, the new interchange will relieve traffic congestion and improve access to Galway — a 2,000-acre commercial and residential development.
The low-profile Ultra-Cor arch (25.4 m span, 6.4 m rise, 43.1 m length) will have two lanes running underneath and four lanes on top in this shallow cover application. The structure will also feature AIL’s MSE Precast Panel Walls. Farrell’s Excavating has been awarded the contract to build the new interchange, which will include an underpass, roundabout and ramps along the westbound lane of the highway on Galway’s western edge.
The interchange site is also at the entrance to St. John’s largest construction quarry and ready-mix plant on the opposite side of the TCH. Trucks now travel an extra 5km loop in order to access the highway. With the new interchange, approximately 26,000 km of truck traffic will be reduced every year, which will mean a reduction of approximately 42 tonnes of CO2 emissions (EPA Emission Factors 2023).
Ultra-Cor offers several other advantages vs a traditional concrete bridge
- Significantly lower carbon emissions
- Substantial construction cost savings
- Less maintenance over the life of the structure
- Less social impact (quicker construction time, less maintenance over the lifetime of structure)
- Driver experience over the structure improved (no narrowing of roadway or expansion joints)
Earlier Ultra-Cor TCH underpass was near Corner Brook, NL
Our first Ultra-Cor project in Canada was a smaller TCH underpass near Corner Brook a few years earlier. You can take a video tour of that project here, including scenes from the plate assembly phase.
