208 Street Overpass Widening
2015-2018 | Township of Langley, BC
The Township of Langley needed to relieve pressure on the 208 Street Bridge, a thoroughfare for commuters between Walnut Grove and Willoughby, and on the adjacent north-south connections – 200 and 202 Streets. Enter McElhanney.
McElhanney was retained to twin the bridge, widen 0.8km of approach roads, and upgrade the multi-use bike path, to improve efficiency, safety, and accessibility for all users.
Using expertise from our multiple in-house disciplines, including bridges, transportation, municipal, traffic, landscape architecture, stormwater, and survey, McElhanney provided preliminary and detailed design, communication and stakeholder liaison, environmental permitting, construction cost estimations, and tendering, construction, and post-construction services.
The civil engineering scope involved designing the new two-lane bridge and included curb and gutter, a multi-use trail, three intersections, street lighting, landscaped medians and boulevards, and concrete sidewalks. McElhanney also performed a seismic upgrade of the existing bridge – one of the first applications in BC of the updated Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code’s seismic requirements, which were modified in 2014.
Key challenges included widening the bridge in an urban setting while minimizing the disruption to commuters and residential properties in the immediate vicinity, relocating sanitary and watermains, including temporary solutions during construction, and roadway geometry and bridge configuration.
The Township of Langley Mayor Jack Froese officially opened the upgraded bridge on May 22, 2018. The project was completed within the designated schedule and budget.
“Widening this critical transportation route was a priority for the Township of Langley, and there are many residents, local businesses, and visitors who will be very happy to make use of the upgraded overpass,” the Mayor told the Langley Times.
McElhanney worked with subconsultants Thurber Engineering Ltd. (Geotechnical), DMD & Associates Ltd. (Electrical), Archer CRM Partnership (Archaeological), and the contractor Eurovia British Columbia Inc.
