The Confederation Bridge in Canada cuts ice like french fries.

Image from i.redditmedia.com and submitted by billerz15
image showing The Confederation Bridge in Canada cuts ice like french fries.

RobbieBC on January 11st, 2018 at 21:09 UTC »

Each pier is designed to resist a force of 3000 tons O.O

It's largest recorded force since construction is 800 tons

lygerzero0zero on January 11st, 2018 at 23:35 UTC »

It took forever staring at this on my phone screen with my groggy, barely-slept mind before I figured out what I was looking at. That is one thin, long bridge.

Boogerprotector on January 12nd, 2018 at 01:15 UTC »

As someone who is an islander, who has worked on the maintenance crew on the confederation bridge, my father has worked there since it opened in 1997, and I grew up with the bridge in my front yard, and I’ve never seen the ice break so... perfectly? It’s usually just a bunch of broken up ice.. neato!

How about this one. Did you know there’s a tunnel inside the bridge, where all the electrical lies, and you can literally walk from one end to the other inside. Lighting is a bunch of old incandescent streetlights mounted in the wall. The piers are hollow and dark. Where you cross them is a few 2x4s and handrail. Creepy and don’t look down. Also at the east approach there is a playground resembling the old ferry boats, and a bunch of square cement blocks, numbered. I believe each block was made with each pier for core samples without leaving the shore, although they do go out on the boat (named Pier 45, a repurposed fishing vessel with a diving apparatus on the back) and go take core samples regularly.

Each pier also used to have heavy steel shields around the base for ice breaking in the winter, a few years back these were cut off by a team of divers and dropped to the bottom of the Northumberland Strait as it would have cost way too much to remove.

The bridge driving surface isn’t regular ashphalt. It has a rubber mixed in with it to improve traction, and was paved by a private company from Quebec.

The Confederation Bridge is the longest bridge over ice covered water.

The Confederation Bridge is privately owned, and is monitored 24/7 by cameras, and only one short piece isn’t covered by camera. (Will not say where).

Years back a woman from New Brunswick jumped from the bridge, attempting to commit suicide.(First time ever) It was a foggy night, and I believe around 2am when a patroller came across her car sitting in the one blind spot of the bridge with the 4ways on, nobody in sight. He could hear her screaming but couldn’t see anything in the fog and dark. He called the fire department (members were also on the maintenance crew for the bridge, and fishermen) two or three of them hopped on one of their fathers fishing boats, and went out to find her in the fog and rain, not to mention lighting on the fishing boat wasn’t meant for search and rescue. They actually found the girl and rescued her. Brought her back to the wharf where the paramedics took her to the hospital. She had a broken nose and two black eyes, I believe besides bruising and some mental issues she was mostly okay.

It is illegal to stop on the Confederation Bridge. It is also illegal to pull over, pass another vehicle, drive over 80km/h (or posted speed limit in that area as they are variable based on weather or construction etc.), walking, bicycling, etc is also illegal on the bridge.

The bridge operates a shuttle service year round. They have a custom made trailer to haul up to I believe 15 bikes, and have a 15 passenger van, although if there are only 3/4 passengers, the driver, who is also a patroller, will usually just take you across in the patrol truck (F-150 decked out with lights toolboxes logos etc)

To cross the bridge in a car, pickup, or other two axle vehicle it’s around $45 one way, a motorcycle is something like $17, ambulances and rcmp have a transponder that charges their services to cross as well. If you have a trailer on you car or truck, you pay like $7/8 per axle also. I know transports and tour buses pay a lot but some have transponders and I’m not sure of cost. Shuttle users I believe are $4. All tolls are paid leaving Prince Edward Island, but is free to cross from New Brunswick.

The main office for the Confederation Bridge is in Borden Carleton, PEI. This consists of the computers and IT equipment that controls all signage on the bridge, toll booths, buildings, cameras, you name it. Pay offices, and management offices are also here. There is a diesel generator room that can produce enough power to run the whole town of Borden Carleton, pop. Approx 1000 people. Any employees I know are unsure as to whether this generator is connected to the town grid or not, as the town already has a massive generator of its own. This office also has safe room, where the money is sent out to the toll booths and back via underground tubes and capsules. No money is carried by hand to or from the toll booths. The PEI office also used to house the control room, where the Controller on duty would monitor all the cameras on the bridge, east and west approach, toll booths and offices in PEI and NB. This is now done in New Brunswick, just off the bridge at the Cape Jourimain Nature Center, also where shuttle users wait to cross as well.

The Controller watches all cameras, authorizes wide load crossings, dangerous goods crossings, phone calls, incident reports, things like that. They also monitor where the Patroller on duty is and the Shuttle driver (usually patroller unless it’s busy).

Patroller crosses the bridge periodically, to check for road debris, they assist broken down vehicles, call tow trucks, advise the controller to call in the snow plow, sand or salt truck, speed sign changes, sometimes drive the shuttle, and also some patrollers are also trained to drive the plow as well.

Toll booth workers are on 12 hour shifts, have a tv in the toll booth, are usually bilingual (English French) and are usually bored. Lol

Maintenance crew workers also drive the snow plow, clear around buildings, cut grass, drive the sweeper truck, boom truck, perform all work on the bridge. If a diver team comes in the maintenance crew takes them out on their boat, if a paving crew comes in, maintenance still oversees it. They have their own shop, and any needed equipment is available. They have their own boom truck, sweeper truck, plow, massive loader, small tractor, 12/13 f150s stocked with tools and with roof lights, a f450 with a custom dump box, forklift, you name it they have it and if not they can get it. The crew consists of welders, carpenters, mechanics, etc. Very skilled.

Any questions feel free to pm me, sorry I got carried away. This is my lifeblood lol

EDIT: if I think of more, I’ll add to this under this comment! Didn’t realize there would be such interest!

The bridge laws are enforced by RCMP. Patrollers are trained in Law and Security (police course) but do not carry guns or handcuffs. RCMP are nearby, and cross regularly.

The tunnel/pathway inside the bridge, if I remember correctly, carries one of 3(?) main power cables to Prince Edward Island.

EDIT2: Thank you for gold, kind stranger!