Project Value: $25 Million (construction)

The Black Bridge is a single lane historic bridge over the Speed River in Cambridge. The current traffic exceeds the capacity of the bridge and the restricted capacity limits the usefulness of the crossing. The bridge is considered to be of significant heritage value.

The project included a 4 year schedule to define a context sensitive community design solution for the asset management of a heritage truss structure over the Speed River. The project included proactive community consultation including the use of a Study Design and Neighbourhood Café event to solicit early community involvement, and a Value Planning workshop to engage agencies. The study has completed comprehensive environmental inventories of the natural, social and cultural environment including: archaeological, fisheries, Phase 1 ESA, noise analysis, and cultural heritage assessments. Technical studies have included traffic origin-destination study, geotechnical, hydrology and hydraulics, river fluvial geomorphological and sediment transport, structural evaluations and emergency inspections from vehicle collisions, structural preliminary GA’s and landscape architectural rendering of alternatives. The final design has developed a long span bridge (140 m) to cross both the river and PSW and provide a lookout to the Heritage designated structure which will become part of a MUP. It also included the planning of Black Bridge Road (1 km) and Townline Road (1.5 km). The complexity of the project grew to include First Nations, Regional Heritage and the GRCA interests. The study area and roads under study involved the City, Puslinch Township, Wellington County and the Region of Waterloo. The Project met the requirements of a Schedule C Class EA including extensive public consultation for a contentious project that straddles multiple municipalities and jurisdictions of approval. BTE managed the EA and roadway design elements of the project and Brown|CO developed structural alternatives for the crossing as part of the BTE team for the Environmental Assessment.