Skip to main content

The Sir Ambrose Shea lift bridge wins key award

The Sir Ambrose Shea lift bridge has received a transportation award of merit. The structure was designed by Parsons and has been given the 2017 Transportation Award of Merit from the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO). As sole prime consultant, Parsons also provided project management and engineering services during construction. Located on the Avalon Peninsula in the town of Placentia, NL, the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge provides a connection while supporting the region’s commercial fishing industry.
April 25, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The Sir Ambrose Shea lift bridge has received a transportation award of merit. The structure was designed by 3220 Parsons and has been given the 2017 Transportation Award of Merit from the Consulting Engineers of Ontario (CEO). As sole prime consultant, Parsons also provided project management and engineering services during construction.


Located on the Avalon Peninsula in the town of Placentia, NL, the Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge provides a connection while supporting the region’s commercial fishing industry. The bridge is raised approximately 2,400 times/year and is one of the few vertical lift bridges in Canada.

Parsons’ design and detailing of the bridge provided for construction of the substructure, approach spans, and lift-span towers without encroaching on the navigation channel. Disruption of boat navigation through the narrow waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the inner harbour was limited to a few days during construction of the lift span and commissioning of the new bridge.

The link was opened to traffic on September 23rd, 2016 and features two vehicle lanes on each side, as well as pedestrian sidewalks. In addition it carries power and communication utilities. The Sir Ambrose Shea Lift Bridge also received a 2016 Design Award of Excellence from the Quebec Region of the Canadian Institute of Steel Construction.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Atkins is working on major deals for Texas and Florida
    March 10, 2014
    Atkins is working on major contracts in Texas and Florida for tolling and design and build services respectively. In Texas the Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reselected Atkins as its state-wide prime consultant for toll-plaza planning, development, and implementation. Under the terms of the five-year, $10 million contract, Atkins is providing planning, development, infrastructure design and coordination, and construction oversight services, as well as system installation, integration, and testing serv
  • VST used on Portuguese bridge
    February 17, 2012
    PERI says that its new VST heavy-duty shoring tower serves as load-bearing scaffold for the large bridge and civil engineering projects. Each leg on the VST (VARIOKIT Shoring Tower) system can carry a load of around 600kN (the weight of about 60 VW Golf cars or one Leopard-2 tank), and the extremely flexible modular system can be assembled as segmental sections, towers or shoring tower frames for heights up to 40m.
  • Sava River bridge completed but not open
    August 16, 2022
    The bridge between Croatia and Bosnia will open when custom facilities are finished next year.
  • Increased costs for new Duisburg bridge
    June 2, 2020
    Increased costs are now being anticipated for the new Duisburg bridge project.