Federal funding committed for $218-million Cambie Bridge seismic upgrade | Daily Hive

Federal funding committed for $218-million Cambie Street Bridge seismic upgrade

Cambie Street Bridge looking north towards Downtown Vancouver. (Max Lindenthaler/Shutterstock)

Over the past two decades, very extensive seismic upgrades and other improvements have been completed for the Burrard Street Bridge and Granville Street Bridge.

And now, the City of Vancouver is turning its attention to performing major seismic upgrades on the third and final False Creek crossing, the Cambie Street Bridge, with the help of the Government of Canada.

It was announced today that the federal government will provide $84.4 million for this upcoming project through its Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund. TransLink is also contributing $37 million as it is part of the Metro Vancouver region’s designated Major Road Network, with the bridge used by over 13 million vehicles per year or an average of roughly 40,000 vehicles per day.

The entire project is expected to cost at least $218 million, with Vancouver’s municipal government covering the remaining project costs.

You might also like:

“Taking proactive steps to future-proof the Cambie Street Bridge is critical to ensuring the long-term safety and resilience of our community and infrastructure. These upgrades will strengthen our ability to respond to natural disasters, keep key transportation routes open when they’re needed most, and improve climate preparedness across our city,” said Vancouver mayor Ken Sim in a statement.

“We’re grateful to the Government of Canada and TransLink for their partnership and funding support, which make these important improvements possible for everyone who lives in, works in, and visits Vancouver.”

This bridge was completed in 1985, just in time for the Expo ’86 World’s Fair, with six vehicle lanes (three vehicle lanes in each direction) and a particularly wide shared pathway for pedestrians and cyclists along the eastern edge of the bridge deck. It replaced a previous 1911-built, swing-span crossing with four vehicle lanes.

In 2018, one of the bridges’ southbound vehicle lanes was converted into a protected bike lane.

Cambie Street Bridge looking north towards Downtown Vancouver. (Josef Hanus/Shutterstock)

The southbound bike lane on the Cambie Street Bridge. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Although the bridge is the youngest of the three False Creek bridges, a 2019-completed engineering study determined that the structure was vulnerable to severe damage during even a moderately powerful earthquake, which is typically associated with a seismic event with a magnitude in the range of 5.0 or 6.0, although the location and depth of the epicentre are also major determinants of the strength of the damaging seismic waves.

Building codes and knowledge about optimal seismic engineering have changed considerably since the 1980s, including lessons learned from major earthquakes elsewhere in the world since then, such as the earthquakes of Northridge, Kobe, and Christchurch.

That study included a performance-based approach to design instead of strength-based design, a review and change to the earthquake return period, increased soil liquefaction potential, increased understanding of how to predict the interaction between the soil and the bridge, and improved detailing requirements for both steel and concrete structures.

cambie street bridge false creek vancouver

Cambie Street Bridge’s north end in Downtown Vancouver. (ssguy/Shutterstock)

The forthcoming major work will upgrade the Cambie Street Bridge’s seismic resilience, rehabilitate the structure, and reduce the potential post-earthquake damage and repair costs.

City staff previously indicated that these investments will bring the Cambie Street Bridge up to an excellent seismic standard, with a level of performance nearly equivalent to today’s modern bridge code for an exceptionally powerful once-in-2,475-year seismic event. The bridge’s drastically improved seismic resilience will significantly reduce potential earthquake damage, allowing emergency vehicles to use the bridge shortly afterward and lowering repair costs for its full reopening.

Structures are now designed for optimal seismic performance based on three different earthquake frequencies — the probability of withstanding the magnitude of an earthquake happening once in 475 years, once in 975 years, and once in 2,475 years. The latest building code standards require all new buildings and structures to be designed for the once-in-2,475-year earthquake event.

Between 1970 and 1985, the building codes required seismic performance for once-in-100-year earthquakes. The previous once-in-475-year standard was in practice from 1985 to 2005, until the current once-in-2,475-year standard was adopted.

The 2019 technical study estimated that replacing the Cambie Street Bridge would cost $400 million. Due to the market construction price escalations and other factors since the pandemic, the cost of building a brand-new bridge is now likely much higher.

“By strengthening this critical piece of infrastructure, we’re supporting both emergency response capabilities and long-term growth in our region. These upgrades will ensure communities can stay connected after a major event — when every second matters,” said TransLink CEO Kevin Quinn.

Some minor localized seismic upgrades were performed on the bridge in 2021 and 2022, representing the first phase of work.

The second phase began in early 2026 and will continue through 2028, focusing on additional localized seismic upgrades on the bridge piers and foundation. Future additional phases beyond 2028 will perform additional rehabilitation and seismic upgrade work on the bridge piers, foundation, and deck.

Overall, throughout the multiple phases of work, this includes the installation of seismic isolation bearings for all 65 bridge piers, which involves lifting the bridge deck span segments, as well as modifying the existing expansion joints, seismically upgrading the supports at each end of the bridge, and installing soil anchors to strengthen foundations.

Additionally, there will be some transportation upgrades that “support long-term sustainability and connectivity” and new shoreline naturalization work underneath the north end of the bridge, which will test a new type of seawall construction designed to be more resilient to sea level rise and coastal flooding.

Cambie Street Bridge looking south from the North False Creek seawall in Downtown Vancouver. (ssguy/Shutterstock)

“The Cambie Bridge is essential for Downtown Vancouver to function, but it wasn’t built to withstand a major earthquake 00 we are investing to change that. To build a stronger, more resilient Canada, we are improving critical infrastructure at a record pace, keeping people, essential services, and goods moving safely,” said Gregor Robertson, the federal minister of housing and infrastructure, federal minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada, and a former mayor of Vancouver.

The municipal government is also in the process of determining the future of the nearby 1970s-built Dunsmuir and Georgia viaducts, which are also seismically vulnerable. There were plans to demolish the viaducts, as part of the City’s Northeast False Creek Plan to open up the area for new building development opportunities and public park and open spaces, but this work has been significantly delayed due in part to higher costs for demolition and the new replacement surface road network and issues with the previously established developer-driven market housing revenue strategy to fund this initial major infrastructure work.

Earlier this year, City leadership suggested they were exploring possible opportunities to cover the cost of the demolition of the viaducts and the construction of the new road network by pursuing loans and/or direct funding from the federal and provincial governments.

You might also like: