Solution for Taylor Bridge inches closer to reality
Pile load tests will be conducted along the north and south banks of the Peace River near the Taylor Bridge this summer, marking the first step towards building a replacement bridge that the North Peace has seen since public engagement concluded in 2022.
The Ministry of Transportation and Transit (MOTT) announced on June 12 that the provincial government had awarded the contract for the geotechnical investigations to Hanna Infrastructure Ltd., for $3.6 million.
Pile load testing involves drilling cylindrical steel piles into the ground and installing monitoring instruments to gather critical geotechnical data, according the MOTT’s press release. The information gathered will inform the engineering requirements for the load capacity of future piles.
Taylor Mayor Brent Taillefer noted that the possible bridge replacement has been a long time coming.
“There is no defined or approved bridge replacement, but we definitely see work happening that moves in the direction of a project,” he said.
Taillefer added that Taylor Council regularly meets with MOTT to talk about what they’re working on and regularly reminds the province of the importance of the Taylor Bridge to the North.
Approximately 7,500 vehicles cross the Peace River via the Taylor Bridge daily, with 30 percent of that being commercial traffic. Twenty percent of the province’s overweight and over width traffic travels through the Peace, using this bridge to reach their destinations.
As part of the Alaska Highway, the Taylor Bridge is an important connection for provincial and national economic activities from industry to tourism.