Alex Fraser Bridge
Location: Delta, BC Contract Value:
When built in 1986, the Alex Fraser Bridge was the longest cable-stayed bridge in the world at 465 meters long. Somerset produced and supervised the erection scheme using a “balanced cantilever method” requiring precise sequencing of erection to ensure stability. The complete steel superstructure, including cables, was erected in ten and a half months of single shift work.
Somerset also designed all purpose built erection equipment such as innovative self-jumping access platforms and cable-stay deflecting mechanisms to handle the 23-tonne prefabricated stays. The steelwork and precast decks were erected by four stiff-leg derricks supported by specially built tie-down frames which could be rolled ahead sequentially.
