William R. Bennett Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:	William R. Bennett Bridge
Official Name:	William R. Bennett Bridge
Carries:	5 lanes of Highway 97, pedestrians and bicycles
Crosses:	Okanagan Lake
Locale:	Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Maint:	Protrans WRB Bridge (SNC-Lavalin)
Traffic:	50,000 vehicles
Open:	May 25, 2008
Design:	Pontoon bridge
Coordinates:	49.8796°N -119.5119°W

The William R. Bennett Bridge is a pontoon bridge in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Completed on May 25, 2008, the bridge replaced the older Okanagan Lake Bridge built in 1958 to link Downtown Kelowna to West Kelowna across Okanagan Lake as part of Highway 97.

On April 21, 2005, Premier Gordon Campbell officially renamed the bridge, then the Okanagan Lake Bridge, the William R. Bennett Bridge in honour of former premier Bill Bennett, a native of Kelowna.

Construction budget

The first press release from the British Columbia Ministry of Transportation to include budget information was in 2003. At that time, the project was estimated to cost for the bridge and another $20million for the two interchange upgrades on the west side of the lake.^[1]

By June 29, 2005, the cost of the bridge had increased from the previous estimate of $100million to $144million "due to dramatic increases in the cost of construction materials and labour", which included significant increases in the cost of concrete, steel, and fuel. Over the next 30 years, the province of British Columbia expected to pay SNC-Lavalin a total of $179million "to design, build, finance, operate, maintain and rehabilitate the bridge".^[2]

Construction schedule

• April 2005: Arthon Construction begins bridge end preloads from rock on Westside Road
• May 2005: Arthon completes east side preload
• June 2005: SNC-Lavalin is chosen to design, build, finance and operate the new bridge
• July 2005: Construction begins on a dry dock near Bear Creek Provincial Park, where the bridge pontoons will be built
• Q3 2005: Arthon completes preloads on west side of Lake Okanagan
• Q3 2005: Graving dock ready
• Q3 2006: Roadwork on both approaches begins
• Q4 2006: First four pontoons in place
• Q1 2007: Bridge deck construction begins
• Q4 2007: All pontoons in place
• Q4 2007: Roadwork on both approaches is completed
• Q1 2008: Bridge deck construction is completed
• Q2 2008: Test and commission
• Q2 2008: Bridge officially opens
  • Official opening scheduled for May 25, 2008
• Q2 2009: Decommission of the old bridge
• Q2 2009: Shoreline restoration

Bridge facts

• Extending 1060m (3,480feet) long in total, the bridge includes a 690m (2,260feet) string of long poles holding pontoons supporting an elevated deck^[3]
• At the deepest point near the middle of the bridge, the lake is approximately 60m (200feet) deep
• There are a total of 9 concrete pontoons
• The pontoons are wide and 60mto90mm (200feetto300feetm) long
• The navigation span on the west side of the bridge is long and provides of clearance between the bridge and the lake
• Three lanes are for westbound traffic
• Two lanes are for eastbound traffic
• An additional 1.3m (04.3feet) wide pedestrian and cyclist pathway exists on the south (eastbound) side of the bridge
• The west side of the bridge has a pedestrian, cyclist, and vehicle underpass at Campbell Road and another interchange at Westside Road
• The Kelowna side of the bridge retains the existing pedestrian and cyclist underpass between City Park and Lake Avenue
• The new bridge was designed to handle up to 80,000 vehicles daily; the old Okanagan Lake Bridge was designed to handle 38,000 vehicles daily but, in 2005, handled approximately 50,000 vehicles daily^{[4] [5]}
• The bridge is maintained by Protrans WRB Bridge, which is a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin^[6]

See also

• List of bridges in Canada

External links

• Ministry of Transportation: William R. Bennett Bridge
• Partnerships BC project page for William R. Bennett Bridge
• SNC-Lavalin Inc.
• Westmar Consultants Inc. (created the initial base design for the bridge)

Notes and References

1. News: Province of British Columbia . New Bridge Fulfils Premier's Commitment to Kelowna . 18 July 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110718022222/http://www.partnershipsbc.ca/pdf/MoT-OKB-Release-102803.pdf . dead . 11 December 2022 . Government of British Columbia . 28 Oct 2003.
2. News: Province of British Columbia . SNC-Lavalin Chosen To Deliver William R. Bennett Bridge . 11 June 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110611170746/https://www.th.gov.bc.ca/WilliamRBennettBridge/updates/WRBennett_Bridge_preferred_proponent.pdf . dead . 11 December 2022 . Government of British Columbia . 29 June 2005.
3. Web site: Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure . Profile of the Elevated Portion of the William R. Bennett Bridge . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110611170732/http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/WilliamRBennettBridge/panels/PBC_Board-6.pdf . 2011-06-11 . 11 December 2022 . th.gov.bc.ca . Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.
4. News: McHugh . Anne-Rachelle . Public hates billboards -- report . Westside Weekly . 8 February 2006.
5. Web site: Canadian Consulting Engineer Staff . William R. Bennett Bridge . canadianconsultingengineer.com . Canadian Consulting Engineer . 11 December 2022.
6. Web site: Protrans WRB . Protrans WRB Bridge . 11 December 2022 . Protrans WRB Bridge.