Valley Line Southeast Milestone – The Tawatinâ Bridge is Connected

TransEd reached a major milestone on Thursday, September 10 with the connection of the gap between the north and south banks of the Tawatinâ bridge over the North Saskatchewan River.
Over approximately three hours, crews poured concrete to close the remaining one-metre gap that fully connected the 13-kilometre Valley Line Southeast alignment from Mill Woods to Downtown Edmonton.

“As the lead designer and engineer of record, Arup has worked collaboratively with TransEd and American Bridge to come a step closer to realizing this multi-modal and cost-effective design that will be an asset to the local community. The bridge spans across the North Saskatchewan river in a beautiful natural valley in the heart of the City.” – Matt Carter, Arup Americas Bridge Skills Leader.

With the bridge deck connected, crews will now begin installing the two sets of tracks and the Overhead Catenary System (OCS) that will power the new, low-floor trains. Six OCS poles will be installed on the bridge.

Construction of the steel Shared Use Path (SUP) suspended underneath the bridge will also begin. This eight-metre wide path will run through the opening between the two sides of the concrete support tower and is designed to support an array of Edmontonians: pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, and wheelchair users.

Lighting features will be also built and installed up and down the tower.

Crews installed the seventh and final set of cable stays on the bridge in August.