The Saint-John and Jemseg bridges are major components of the Fredericton Moncton Toll Road project. The Jemseg River Bridge is the name for two different structures that cross the Jemseg River as part of a highway realignment of Route 2 (Trans-Canada Highway) that opened in October 2001. This project included a 950 metres launched girder bridge, constructed approximately 100 metres upstream from the original structure. The Saint John River High Level Crossing is a steel girder bridge crossing the Saint John River. Completed in 2001 and opened to the public in October 2002, the bridge carries 4 lanes of the realigned Route 2.
The original Jemseg River Bridge was constructed in the mid-1960’s and carried the two-lane Route 2 (Trans-Canada Highway). Route 2 is a major highway in New Brunswick, and serves as the main route into the Province. It connects with A85 with Quebec and highway 104 at the border with Nova Scotia, as well as with Interstate 95 in Maine (USA). Roughly 34,000 vehicles per day use this highway in summer peak periods.
The twin bridges required the erection of 252 twin steel girders (some weighing more than 90 tons) using the conventional pick-and-lift method.
The designer specified as many uniform spans as possible to simplify fabrication and on-site assembly. While the saint John crossings are straight and linear, the Jemseg structures are curved.
The eight Jemseg launched girders which carry the main river span are the biggest on the job, each weighing 92 tons and measuring 33 metres long by 7 metres deep. These steel elements were so big they had to be barged up the Saint John River from a plant located in Dartmouth.
Flooding incidents were sometimes so serious that the old two-lane highway often had to be closed to circulation.
The construction of these two new structures limit the impact of flooding thanks to a higher overall elevation of the highway.
Sponsor
New-Brunswick Ministry of Transportation
Client
MRDC Operations Corporation
Construction Period
January 1998 to June 2002
Saint-John Bridge
Length: 1 062 m
Spans: 14 spans (central span: 120 m)
Jemseg Bridge
Length: 976 m
Spans: 11 spans