Now Available: Ontario Wood Bridge Reference Guide!

The Ontario Wood Bridge Reference Guide was prepared for for the Canadian Wood Council and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry by Moses Structural Engineers and Brown & Co. Engineering Ltd.

CLICK HERE to download a PDF copy of the Guide or EMAIL US to request a printed copy.

Timber bridges have a long history of construction and use throughout North America, including Ontario, for roadways, railways and logging roads. The Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code (CHBDC), together with the Canadian Wood Council publication Wood Highway Bridges from 1992 are typically referenced by designers of timber bridges in Ontario. This new reference is intended to provide updated background information for designers as they embark on proposing and designing timber highway bridges for primary and secondary roads. The reference is divided into three parts:

Part 1 – Wood Bridges – Design and Use
Part 2 – Opportunities & Current Limitations
Part 3 – Design Examples

Part 1 provides background information on topics including wood materials, bridge systems, prefabrication, durability and species availability. Details of costs, construction cycle and sustainability are also provided. Part 1 concludes with examples of a variety of completed highway bridges from North America and Europe.

Part 2 of this reference is intended to provide designers and authorities with highlights of the current edition of the CHBDC on subjects related to the wood highway bridges, including areas that will require future development in the code. Additional references to other resources for advancing practitioner knowledge of and advancing the state of the art in wood bridge design are provided.

Part 3 has two fully worked design examples of a two-lane 18-m span wood highway bridge designed in accordance with the latest provisions of the CHBDC and the best available information from current literature. Each example is based on a single-span, simply-supported glued-laminated girder bridge. One bridge has a glued-laminated deck and the other has a stress-laminated deck. These examples are intended to help designers understand the key issues as they undertake wood highway bridge design. Durability through detailing and choice
of materials is discussed.

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The Benefits of Wood in Building Construction – by Natural Resources Canada

Transcript:  Wood, an abundant and renewable natural resource, is suitable for many types of building construction. Be it residential or non-residential, light frame or heavy timber frame, low rise or mid-rise, wood can be used in various building applications. This is because of the many benefits and positive attributes of wood. The Government of Canada supports the research and development of wood-based construction. A versatile and often cost-effective building material wood can enable developers to build more quickly and more cheaply. Wood structures are strong, durable and resilient. They can be designed to resist major earthquakes and hurricane-like winds. Wood can be used to build striking features like roofs, ceilings, walls and bridges, resulting in visually-appealing structures. Wood building materials are also good for the environment. They are renewable, biodegradable, recyclable, and they store carbon, resulting in a smaller environmental footprint than other building materials. In fact, a typical North American wood-frame home stores about 30 tonnes of carbon.  his is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by running the family car for over 5 years. Federally-supported research continues to demonstrate the many benefits of wood in building construction. Wood. Good for building. Good for the environment. Good for Canada.