Confederation Drive Pedestrian Bridge

The new Confederation Drive Pedestrian Bridge will replace the existing Confederation Drive vehicle bridge (decommissioned in 2015) over a bypass segment of the historic Rideau Canal in the Town of Smiths Falls, Ontario. The new structure will provide a vital Active Transportation (AT) link between Centennial and Veteran's Memorial Parks, central destinations for the Town's residents and tourists.

The footbridge design incorporates traditional materials such as timber, steel, and stone to seamlessly integrate with the historical context of the Rideau Canal (considered one of the greatest engineering feats of the 19th century) and complement the Town’s architecture. 

The design features symmetrical viewing platforms on each side of the bridge, offering pedestrians an enhanced experience of the river and surrounding scenery. This new crossing will be a landmark for the Town of Smiths Falls for decades to come.

Design

The 50-meter (164-foot) bridge features tapered Alaskan Yellow Cedar glulam arches which support a doubly-curved metal roof and reach nearly 9 meters (30 feet) above the bridge deck to clear-span the Rideau Canal.  The arches are shaped to follow the flow of forces - a common feature of our bridges. Minimizing the project's environmental impact on the river and preserving the natural waterway, the clear span alignment eliminates the need for in-water works. The abutments are cast directly behind the existing canal walls, leaving them intact.  Transitioning from timber to stone-clad concrete at the abutments, the arch design minimizes exposure of the lower timber.

Incorporating a covered roof was a key desire of the Town’s brief; the doubly curved timber framed roof system protects the user and the timber structure itself, hugging the arches for most of the bridge length. Slight cross curvature of the extended corrugated metal roof allows the roof to shed rain sideways, eliminating the need for gutters. The bridge deck consists of gapped and pre-stressed timber deck panels, which cantilever at the midspan viewing platforms.

This signature bridge, a carefully chosen combination of timber, steel, and stonework, provides a durable, sustainable contribution to the historic Rideau Canal, and a modern first of its kind in Ontario.