Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox bridge
| name = Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge
| image = Canal Lake Arch Bridge NHS.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| coordinates = {{Coord|44.55801|-79.04592|display=inline,title}}
| os_grid_reference =
| carries = Centennial Park Road
| crosses = Canal Lake
| locale = Kawartha Lakes (Ontario)
| other_name =
| named_for =
| owner = City of Kawartha Lakes
| maint =
| heritage = National Historic Sites of Canada
| id =
| id_type =
| material = Reinforced concrete
| material1 =
| material2 =
| length = {{convert|202|ft|m}}
| width = {{convert|16|ft|m}}
| height = {{convert|29|ft|m}}
| depth = up to {{convert|15|ft|m}}
| traversable =
| towpath =
| number_spans = 1
| load =
| clearance_below = {{convert|29|ft|m}}
| lanes = 2
| life =
| architect =
| designer = Department of Railways and Canals
| contracted_designer =
| winner =
| engineering =
| builder =
| fabricator =
| begin = 1905
| complete = 1905
| cost =
| open = 1905
| inaugurated =
| rebuilt =
| collapsed =
| closed =
| traffic =
| toll =
| extra = {{Designation list |embed=yes |designation1=NHSC |designation1_offname=Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge National Historic Site of Canada |designation1_date=24 June 1988 }}
}}
Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge is an arch bridge in Ontario, Canada, spanning a portion of Canal Lake on the Trent–Severn Waterway between Balsam Lake and Lake Simcoe. It is north-northeast from the town of Bolsover.
The closed spandrel bridge is the earliest-known bridge in Canada to be constructed using reinforced concrete, and is based on a modified Melan System of bridge reinforcement. In 1988, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canada for representing a transitional period in bridge construction and a milestone in civil engineering in Canada.
Structure
Designed by the federal Department of Railways and Canals, the bridge was built in 1905.{{sfn|Parks Canada}} The original design was for a concrete arch bridge typical of its era. Before construction began, the design was updated by integrating reinforced concrete using a modified Melan System of bridge reinforcement, which had been pioneered by its namesake Josef Melan in the 1890s.{{sfn|Parks Canada}}{{sfn|Canadian Register of Historic Places}}{{sfn|Backgrounder}} Among the changes were the installation of struts underneath the arch, and a reduction in the mass of the arch and its abutments.{{sfn|Backgrounder}} The concrete mass is reinforced with curved steel girders.{{sfn|Parks Canada}}
The arch is a closed spandrel, in which the structural load of the deck is carried to the arch ribs via spandrel walls.{{sfn|Maryland Department of Transportation|p=138}} It has a radius of {{convert|30|ft|m}},{{sfn|Backgrounder}} and its vertical clearance of {{convert|29|ft|m}} is sufficient for vessels to navigate underneath.{{sfn|Old|Frood|2008}} The deck is {{convert|16|ft|m}} wide, and spans {{convert|202|ft|m}} over the lake, anchored by reinforced concrete abutments.{{sfn|Backgrounder}} The concrete spandrel walls are marked to imitate the voussoir layout common to stone arch bridges and the "coursed stonework of stone masonry bridge abutments".{{sfn|Canadian Register of Historic Places}}
The bridge was refurbished between April 2018 and February 2019 by GMP Contracting Ltd., the work included patching concrete, refacing the surface and replacing the road deck.{{cite web |title=Extended Road Closures |url=https://www.kawarthalakes.ca/en/news/extended-road-closure-centennial-park-road-kirkfield-canal-lake-arch-bridge-rehab-apr-1618-feb-1519.aspx |website=City of Kawartha Lakes |date=13 April 2018 |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122005003/https://www.kawarthalakes.ca/en/news/extended-road-closure-centennial-park-road-kirkfield-canal-lake-arch-bridge-rehab-apr-1618-feb-1519.aspx | archive-date=22 November 2020}}{{cite web |title=Canal Lake Arch Bridge |url=http://gmpcontracting.com/portfolio/canal-lake-arch-bridge/ |publisher=GMP Contracting Ltd. |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122004544/http://gmpcontracting.com/portfolio/canal-lake-arch-bridge/ |archive-date=22 November 2020}}
National Historic Site of Canada
The bridge was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on 24 June 1988{{sfn|Canadian Register of Historic Places}} for its early use of concrete in bridge construction,{{sfn|Wilson|2001}} for being the earliest-known bridge in Canada to be constructed using reinforced concrete,{{sfn|Parks Canada}} and for its "close association with the Trent-Severn Waterway".{{sfn|Canadian Register of Historic Places}} It is one of only a few mass concrete bridges built in North America,{{sfn|Backgrounder}} as the bridge "represents a transitional structure" between earlier stone arch bridges and the advent of reinforced bridges.{{sfn|Backgrounder}}
On 30 August 2008, a plaque was unveiled by Bruce Stanton, Member of Parliament for Simcoe North, representing the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.{{sfn|Old|Frood|2008}} The plaque, installed on the southwest side of the bridge, states that the Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge represents "an important milestone in the history of civil engineering in Canada", as it led to the development of large-span reinforced concrete bridges.{{sfn|Parks Canada}}
Notes
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References
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.eic-ici.ca/PDFs/history/hawp8.pdf|title=Engineering designations of national historic significance|last=Wilson|first=Andrew H.|publisher=Engineering Institute of Canada|date=October 2001|access-date=20 January 2017|journal=|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427052225/http://eic-ici.ca/PDFs/history/hawp8.pdf|archive-date=27 April 2016|url-status = dead|df=dmy-all}}
- {{cite press release|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/APPS/CP-NR/release_e.asp?id=1254&andor1=nr|title=MP Stanton celebrates the historical significance of Canal Lake Arch Bridge|last1=Old|first1=Colin|last2=Frood|first2=Peter|publisher=Parks Canada|date=30 August 2008|access-date=20 January 2017}}
- {{cite web|url=https://www.roads.maryland.gov/OPPEN/IX-CABr.pdf|title=Concrete Arch Bridges|work=Historic Bridge Context Report: Concrete Bridges|publisher=Maryland Department of Transportation|date=|access-date=20 January 2017|ref={{harvid|Maryland Department of Transportation}} }}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/APPS/CP-NR/release_e.asp?bgid=1012&andor1=bg|title=Canal Lake Arch Bridge national historic site of Canada|work=Backgrounder|publisher=Parks Canada|access-date=20 January 2017|ref={{harvid|Backgrounder}} }}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=13085|title=Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge National Historic Site of Canada|work=Canadian Register of Historic Places|publisher=Parks Canada|access-date=20 January 2017|ref={{harvid|Canadian Register of Historic Places}} }}
- {{cite web|url=http://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=347|title=Canal Lake Concrete Arch Bridge National Historic Site of Canada|publisher=Parks Canada|access-date=20 January 2017|ref={{harvid|Parks Canada}} }}
{{refend}}
Category:1905 establishments in Ontario
Category:Deck arch bridges in Canada
Category:Bridges completed in 1905
Category:Road bridges in Ontario