Blue Water Bridge Linking Ontario with Michigan

Location: Between Port Huron, Michigan and Sarnia, Ontario
Engineers:  Buckland & Taylor Ltd. and Modjeski & Masters
Owner/Operators: Blue Water Bridge Canada, and Michigan Department of Transportation

The Blue Water Bridge is an international twin span bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, USA and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Together, the two spans of  the bridge are the second-busiest crossing between the United States and Canada.

In 1992, it was determined that traffic on the original bridge had exceeded its rated capacity. So bridge authorities decided to add a second span in order to accommodate the high traffic.

In order to build the foundation of the new bridge span, piles needed to be placed within meters of historically designated buildings. HGC Engineering was contracted to ensure that noise and vibration from pile driving and construction did not adversely affect nearby heritage structures, businesses and residences. The task was accomplished by monitoring and analyzing vibration levels on the heritage sites during pile driving and construction ensuring that the historically designated building were not damaged.

Acoustical Engineering Services Included:

• Construction Vibration Monitoring