A permanent Acrow bridge is serving to connect communities north-east of Lake Winnipeg during the winter months. As part of the Manitoba Winter Road Network, which stretches many miles across the Province over land and lakes, the route was only previously passable via seasonal ice roads. The 440 foot (134.11 meter) Acrow bridge comprises 3 spans, 80 feet (24.38 meters), 250 feet (76.2 meters) and 110 feet (33.53 meters) in length, and was installed to facilitate access for heavy transport trucks carrying vital supplies and equipment.
Commissioned by the Province of Manitoba, the Acrow Bridge was delivered in the winter months and built by a local contractor, experienced in assembling bridges in remote Northern Canadian locations on various civil construction projects with no road access.
The main challenge was the mobilization of plant and equipment, although the modular nature of the bridge made the task easier. The contractor used aircraft to transport crews and components to landing strips near this remote area. Erection and launching was completed in just over a month.
The God’s Lake Narrows Bridge is in service all year round, providing not only a logistics route for haul transport but sustained access to the local airstrip and hospital, which was previously difficult due to the challenging terrain of the surrounding area (rock and muskeg).
The permanent direct connection reduced journey travel times for the neighboring communities. It was also the largest of several Acrow Bridges installed, contributing to the overall access improvement throughout the Winter Road Network.
