Rolling a 827ft bridge off over a river in -40 weather. MUST WATCH!

For this project, PDI understood that a new approach would need to be designed to tackle the demolition head on.
Not only did the bridge span 246 metres making it so that machines would not be able to reach from the shoreline, but it spanned a water way in Northern Ontario which feeds into other major lakes and rivers in the North. With this in mind, Priestly Demolition’s in house engineer along with our sub-trade Western Mechanical, focused on a methodology that allowed the bridge to be rolled off of the existing piers to minimize the risk of debris falling in the waterway, and to give easy access to PDI’s equipment at the shoreline for material separation.

[@Rocketman88002]

An orchestration of highly skilled and knowledgeable people brought that concrete and steel bridge down!

[@wheresbrent]

The production value here is amazing. Great Job!

[@scotsmanofnewengland7713]

Good job done guys !!! Work like that makes you sleep good at night and also being outside does the mind and body wonders. Be safe and vigilant. Thanks again from Connecticut USA

[@chrissierzputowski1849]

Very impressive! After crossing this bridge 100's upon 100's of times, the demolition of it with the expertise of PDI brings closure to a unique part of Northern Ontario history ! Well done and congrats!

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

Yes

[@cntslesfabrication]

I wish I lived in Canada so I could work with your company, you guys do have fantastic operator's and you provide them with everything needed to do the job right. Nothing but the best equipment. Huge company with the small family business that is hard to find anymore

[@genebohannon8820]

Don't go to Qubec. Those fucks up there are criminals and take for ever. I live a 1/4 mile South of the border

[@jeffryblackmon4846]

The enormous size an weight of the project and the great planning and execution of the work were awesome.

[@stuart4683]

And it broke right after they built it 🤣 think it was open for a week or two then it broke

[@jeffryblackmon4846]

@@stuart4683 That's interesting. Any idea what happened?

[@stuart4683]

Believe it was wrong toque or something like that put onto some bolts the west side of the bridge ended up lifting 4 or 5 ft

[@stuart4683]

On January 10, 2016, the new bridge was closed to traffic after all 40 M22 (​7⁄8 in) bolts attaching a main deck girder to the northwest bearing failed during a winter storm, causing the deck to lift by 60 centimetres (24 in), resulting in the indefinite closure of the Trans-Canada Highway at the bridge.

[@jeffryblackmon4846]

@@stuart4683 Wow! That seems to be rather small fasteners for such a huge structure! Thank you for the update and Happy Easter.

[@michaelmaas5544]

Seriously impressed with the speed of this demolition. Just watched a small bridge project rebuilding in my area take 14 months.

[@HANKTHEDANKEST]

I was driving through Northern Ontario and had no idea this bridge was there. Tearassing through the wilderness, nothing but trees and highway for hours and hours UNTIL THIS AMAZING BRIDGE hoved into view. I was awestruck--I couldn't help but slow down and just gush about how amazing and unexpected this bridge was! It is seriously an impressive piece of engineering, made all the more impressive by the wildness and ruggedness of the area it's in. Big props to everybody who worked on this thing--you guys did great.

[@kevintucker3354]

That was an amazing feat of engineering in an epic scale. Nice precise work!

[@johnmoore8016]

These people have it in one small sock, in other words they know what they are doing. Thanks for an outstanding video. (Mississippi gulf coast. USA)

[@keithnoneya]

Outstanding workmanship and planning. Super Job fellas. Best Wishes & Blessings. Keith Noneya

[@victorpham4467]

Amazing, Truly "Must Watch". Thank you for the infomations of the project, Plan, Expetise of the engineeering, and skilled workers.

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

Expertise your civil engineering knowledge here

[@Kwobler]

I watched these guys take over 45 minutes to warm up machines due to the cold. Hoses and fittings blow off like nothing in that cold. I even witnessed them change out the Hydrolic oil for Canola oil because of the enviromental sensativity of the job with the river being a nature reserve for fish. Was an amazing project to be a part of. But the original bridge was actually demolished around the 70s and was replaced with the one in the video. I lived about a 5 minute walk from the bridge. I seen peirs from a bridge long before the one in the video. Im having trouble finding the history since the new one is now so popular. Preisly demolition did an amazing job on this removal. They truly cared about the envormental impact that there demolition could pose and took more then enough messures to insure it was done to the properly.

[@MsSoundguy]

Brilliant! Thank you for this.

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

Truely brilliant dear

[@skunkhome]

The steel looks remarkably good for such an old bridge.

[@Kwobler]

Its not the original bridge. it was a second one. The first one was replace in the 70s i belive. I used to live about a 5 mins from the bridge. And had the oportunity to work on the project. Not this project. But the builiding of the new bridge. Got to help Presly build roads to reach the bottom of the peirs.

[@2112jonr]

In England we too build the new bridge first. Then we swap the traffic over. Then we demolish the old one. Seems to work well.

[@Nyck461]

Great video. Very well harmonized work.

[@royyazzie6028]

Brilliant engineer's make it safely for the environment & the workers as well👍

[@michaelogden5958]

Those guys working the cutting torches... not just brass ones, but pure titanium!

[@chadwinslow5493]

Wow! Awesome job by all!

[@WhiteRockBoy]

That was just fkn awesome problem solving, great video!

[@guytremblay1647]

I remeber when i worked in Ontario for 4 years in construction . Those demolishion guys know their work and they are really efficient in everything that they do .and will get the job done in record times . Unlike what we see in Quebec even today and the construction companies in Ontario are way more efficient to compared to Quebec and their work has even more quality to

[@dcwshoreline5416]

This is gold!

[@johnmoore8016]

These people have it in a very small sock; Job well did an outstanding job. Bravo Zulu

[@larou14]

Omg, quel travail !!! Ces hommes sont des artistes dans l'âme !!! 😮👍😎

[@cartographer29]

Excellent video. Only problem is the blueprints constantly used for infographics were from the original 1937 structure, which was fully replaced in 1974 by the bridge that was actually removed in this video.

[@williamhighland4868]

That was awesome

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

It was

[@passiton3801]

Ingenious, sliding the bridge off!

[@daavid1974]

great job, nice to watch this video

[@GeradMunsch]

Do you guys spend as much time on videography as demolition? Awesome video, awesome demolitions. You guys are skilled, both at demolition and at videography. An unusual combination, but it's pretty badass.

[@TimCBuilders]

The production was great

[@hensvandenbos247]

I think PDI must have read Pierre Burtons book "The last spike." They ( CP) builded that railway bridge right next to it the sameway in reverse. they didn t have the tools of today. The bridge is still there, the trains are still rolling over it. that was also an great engeneering work.That was build more then 125 y ago approx.

[@stashu5242]

Nailed it. Top notch work.

[@seantyree8443]

love the intro

[@chrismullin8304]

In a world of Architects and Engineers, many amazing things would be drawn. Nothing would ever be built.

[@awadahmed4510]

Amazing 👏. We need you here in London to do the same to Hammersmith Bridge.

[@davidwells9275]

Great video!

[@ScottishNSRailFan]

Great viewing

[@snshnerocks]

The guy at 9:00 reminds me of the red and green show haha imagine his ideas to take down a bridge lol.

[@edwardjones9631]

There in Nipagon was but one stoplight T highway intersection, where back in the 90s, the two Canadian highways merged into a single highway westbound! Then Nipagon had the only main highway intersection between all of eastern and western Canada! Good to know they have built the new bridge! More moose than people there, maybe except in Thunder Bay!!

[@rkelsey3341]

Were any shoulders dislocated in all the self back-patting that went on here?

[@solwong1338]

Amazing

[@robertrook2391]

I just wondered if the bridge spanned an immense 827 feet, what does a small 827 feet look like? :)

[@Netlogic.]

Backwards hard hat, what a cool dog

[@swissyodelbear]

nice work....

[@RedDFilm]

Great video. Perhaps adding metatags to your channel and videos would generate more views? With respect.

[@Sara-L]

Why the added sound effects? this isn't a discovery channel docu-drama.

[@kenshores9900]

Interesting demolishion. Minimum amount of free fall debris. Good video.

[@johnnieguitar5724]

Awesome job guys and gals! Thanks for posting.

[@gorgonbazil2652]

I wish the crews would work in the winter here in the US, if they did roads like I-76 in PA would finally have the construction complete, its been under construction for almost 20+ years..

[@standonit2003]

It's a state spanning toll road. It will never be completed!

[@SpiritofSydneyExpeditions]

cool video

[@TheSoloAsylum]

Andrew Caramata could have done this with a torch a moped and some zip ties for a couple hundred bucks.

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

Yes dear

[@blainerueckwald]

Yeah and it all would have been in the river in no time.

[@TheSoloAsylum]

@@blainerueckwald down is down...

[@richardcline1337]

How did they clean up the concrete pieces that fell into the river where the columns were? Or did they just abandon them?

[@oldbloke100]

what harm would that be, the river is flowing fast, its gone.

[@richardcline1337]

@@oldbloke100, I'm well aware of that! I was just curious about the remaining debris.

[@properfunny]

Video starts at 1:40. It has a long opening sequence.

[@trxtech3010]

Yeah that was a bit rediculous!

[@marcuscicero9587]

that's what the fast forward button is for

[@thefrub]

That's why I love the SponsorBlock extension that automatically skips intros

[@stuartbee5716]

Video starts at 00:01

[@vejet]

23:32 Correction the original steel deck truss road bridge built in 1937, which is seen at 2:01 of the video was removed in 1974. Priestly removed the the steel plate girder bridge which replaced the original bridge. The new cable-stayed bridge is now the 3rd reintegration of the Nipigon River Bridge. Also, are you sure you don't mean Yanny @15:45 XD

[@somethingelsehere8089]

Thanks. That makes more sense. No way did that bridge look like it was from 1937.

[@johnmoore8016]

I like it when a good plan of attack come together and everything works well as it did here. what kind of clothing did the worker wear for the -40 weather?. Thanks for an outstanding video. (Mississippi gulf coast, USA)

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

Outstanding

[@michaeleveland6481]

Mlm>

[@simov8chevy]

Beats me why the planners didn't just make the old bridge two lanes in one direction and the new bridge two lanes in the other direction.

[@blueman5924]

old one is past due, and too costly to maintain and update to current safety standards for vehicular traffic.

[@trespassingorilla5827]

In my country, everyone be like: Who gives a rats ass about rivers or the environment! Bring that Bridge down ASAP.

[@sighpocket5]

Nice!!!

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

Nice

[@JCO2002]

Big up Canada.

[@MrDj200]

1 minute and 37 seconds for the intro? No thank you Timestamp to skip: 1:37

[@robertrook2391]

What happened to all the demolition waste? Was the steel and concrete recycled?

[@PriestlyDemolitionInc]

Yes, we take our commitment to the environment very seriously and always aim to recycle 100% of the material when possible.

[@meruliouslacrimens5154]

Incredible engineering, however script states 246 meters long but narrator states 252 meters, so is the 6 meter discrepancy to allow for shrinkage and expansion due to weather?

[@stewieatb]

No bridge expands/contracts that much. The coefficient of thermal expansion for steel is about 9 x 10^-6 metres per metre per degC. For a temperature range of -40 to +35, a bridge span of 246 metres would expand about 160mm.

[@laprepper]

how are you going to remove the bridge? We're going to build half a bridge on top and then roll it to the side, what a great solution

[@denelson83]

Essentially this is the reverse of a push-launch.

[@ON3L0VE]

Rip Christa and Stevie.

[@geoffreylee5199]

Been over the old bridge. CN ripped out their rails through here. At this time there was trouble with the new bridge.

[@nbrowser]

Still disturbing one highway connects Western and Eastern Canada.

[@63256325N]

Awesome collaboration! It's too bad the new bridge failed so badly. Guess the powers that be should've just fixed the old one.... Thanks for the video.

[@samsmith3025]

What is wrong with the new bridge?

[@63256325N]

@@samsmith3025 Some bolts broke allowing the end of the bridge to lift considerably, I would imagine it's all sorted by now.

[@sonshinelight]

@@63256325N Boy did that cause havoc in the heavy haul industry. We had to postpone or go through US. Customers don't want to pay more, and the contractor won't pay so postponing usually was the only solution.

[@63256325N]

@@sonshinelight That had to have been a nightmare.

[@bilgeratjim]

@@63256325N More than a few bolts- bad engineering from the start. And yes- all 4 lanes opened Nov 25, 2018. 3 YEARS after the fuck-up. A total disgrace to all involved.

[@hiulpjr8769]

You should use the metal from the old bridge for the new one

[@marcuscicero9587]

metal fatigue going on since 1937

[@ISRAEL922IDF]

MUST FAST FORWARD!

[@housekiller3478]

awesome job guys

[@MasterCivilEngineering]

Expertise your civil engineering knowledge!

[@ronhood7773]

Look for the bullet train @ 24:38min!

[@ptminiaturasportugal]

top, top top

[@OmmerSyssel]

Well done guys! Another dirty, noisy and dangerous workplace demonstrating how immensely important strong independent Feminists are to our society!🧚‍♀️🌈🧚‍♀️ Stay safe and healthy 💪🏻

[@ovidiuciuparu6421]

This is a tiny bridge compared to Millau viaduct from France...

[@snidepete5700]

They needed to double the traffic capacity of the old bridge, huh? Why not just double it up with a second one beside it? 2 lanes each way, Bob's your uncle! Not as much opportunity for graft, though! - too cheap!

[@numbnutz9398]

Because all bridges have a lifespan and this one was at the end of its life. Why repair an obsolete bridge when building a new 4 lane is cheaper than building a new two lane and sinking money into the old bridge.

[@DonLuc23]

What does the annoying background music have to do with removing a bridge?

[@larrygonzales7410]

To make it super intense lol

[@Bonypart]

@@larrygonzales7410 Big fail then!

[@larrygonzales7410]

@@Bonypart exactly

[@mattalbrecht7471]

I do not miss the snow and cold. I am not sure anyone could pay me enough for that crap

[@DarkoBukovec]

What is wrong with bridge...why demolition????

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

How long before they demolish the new bridges that were constructed to replace this one?

[@FreewayInterstate]

I don't know. I'm guessing less than fifty years. And will probably be replaced with a bridge similar to the one that was there before (but four lanes).

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

@@FreewayInterstate Wouldn't it make sense to build modular bridges that use stock deck sections that can be easily replaced. Why build every bridge as a one of a kind structure? The sections could be made offsite and replaced in a day or two instead of taking months.

[@FreewayInterstate]

@@tiredoldmechanic1791 The deck on steel girder bridges (like the old one) can be replaced quite easily. And technically you could replace the deck on the new bridge as well, but it would be VERY difficult.

[@arnoldromppai5395]

yes what a disaster this bridge has been nothing but huge problems from day one, with our cold weather and dumb engineers that dont have any common sense the bridge lifted off its gritter over 3 feet in the air, then instead of correcting the problem they load the bridge road way with hundreds of thousand of tons of concrete to weigh it down to set it back down, this ended in lane closers for months, it been one thing after another again this summer lanes been closed for weeks into months, what a joke, not a bridge for this area ant thousand contested it that it will not work, and here in Oct 2018 still always huge problems and traffic stalled, this waste of money one day will have to be removed and a proper bridge put in,,, .. you should see how high that bridge keeps lifting off the road

[@FreewayInterstate]

Yes...and unlike what the video says the old bridge was actually from 1974. My question is why they didn't just build a new bridge next to the existing bridge then just use both? Sounds like a tremendous waste of money to me. I don't live in Ontario, but I can imagine the same amount of waste has happened all across the province...no wonder the old government suffered that terrible defeat!!... :-)

[@arnoldromppai5395]

@@FreewayInterstate yes a huge waste of money i will bet due to all the problems and every time we turn around the bridge is closed, it keeps lifting off the road 2 to 4 feet and they load it down with weights until the weather warm up,, well that tells me the cables are way to tight, but the dumb ass running it has no clue, if this bridge ever got taken out it cut off everything to the east and west totally, i have lived here all my life, no other way around but old logging roads and not passable with anything but 4x4 an ATV

[@FreewayInterstate]

​@@arnoldromppai5395 With all this cost (and cost overruns) they could have twinned another (long) section of Highway 17, or for that matter constructed an entirely grade-separated expressway through Nipigon, including the intersection with 11! I only hope that the new Government and new Minister ensure that these sort of terrible decisions NEVER happen again. But you are right...this new bridge is going to give them nothing but constant problems, and I bet you anything another replacement project will wind up on the docket in less than thirty years' time, and it will go down in history as one of the most pointless projects in Ontario History, and certainly of the McGuinty/Wynne Liberal governments.

[@arnoldromppai5395]

@@FreewayInterstate that is what i was getting at, it will not belong and this bridge will be ripped out, what get me, my sister works for the MTO AND YEARS AGO SHE TRAVAIL BACK and forth from Thunder Bay to Toronto, living in Toronto paid by the MTO doing all the drawings for all the 4 lanieing and all the clover lefts in Thunder Bay, they bought up homes and moved the houses making way for the clover leafs at 4 intersection, she work on this over 5 years flying back and forth, then came change in government and she was ordered to shred all documents drawings, everything related to the whole project,, as an engineer you know how much they are paid, and to destroy everything she had done over 5 year, lots of over time, air fairs, condom rentals in Toronto, the most wasteful thing in history i seen with my own eyes, then the government changed again and she had to do drawings for a half ass clover leaf for17 and Hodder Ave. on a small budget, that turned out not to be a real clover leaf but rather a huge mess but it is how they wanted her to draw it out, now we have 90 deg turns on to tight road ways that trucker can hardly make.. just another huge mess that need to be changed but she could only do what was set for

[@genebohannon8820]

They love to destroy knowledge in Canada. Remember the Arrow?

[@ruokanen4163]

witch part it is -40c? you cant even go to work when its -40

[@michaelbujaki2462]

I wonder why they couldn't use the old bridge for the eastbound traffic and just make the new bridge for the westbound traffic.

[@simonesimone3511]

im feling for the guy cutting with it all shaking

[@BobSmith1980.]

And then a pigeon landed on the end of the carefully balanced bridge and the whole thing landed in the river. Oh wait that's what I was hoping happened

[@weldingautomation]

Why didn't they use Plasma Cutters? Faster and cheaper!

[@passemouelapoc612]

wow...

[@mattalbrecht7471]

Wouldn't it have been easier to just blow it up?

[@poolak1062]

if it was in my country (???) they would just crash (expode) it & than take big parts from river

[@trxtech3010]

Intro went on way to long. Anyways the videos starts at 24 minutes

[@bobcolgan]

They couldn't have kept a functioning bridge ?!? And just added another beside it to generate the traffic capacity?!? What am I missing here . . .?

[@jbjones27]

Concrete deck bridges have a limited lifetime due to corrosion, freeze/thaw cycles, etc. This one was 82 years old, so for safety , probably best to replace it in the same project when adding the 2 new lanes.

[@ErvinKrauss]

Krista and Steve won't be happy.

[@gregvill9068]

nice demo job. but the ones that built it had one end 12inches higher than the other. OOP,s should make a little clip about that booboo.

[@meruliouslacrimens5154]

For meters i meant metres.

[@nateg5887]

How to steal a bridge in 24 min 39sec

[@davidwales2624]

Why remove it anyway.., just close to traffic and keep for pedestrians and wildlife ..

[@HappyfoxBiz]

it was in the way, the bridge that was to the side of it was only one half of the bridge, they needed to replace this one with a newer bridge.

[@davidwales2624]

Happy Fox gotchya 👍🏻

[@papabits5721]

The Kathleen Wynne memorial fuck up bridge, the old one was better

[@blackdatto]

Wow, you guys are allowed to work from a ladder? Here in Australia the safety inspectors would bust you for working from an access device, demanding you use a work platform....... yeah yeah I know....

[@thebigmacd]

It's getting that way here too...

[@jfdb59]

A 25 minute commercial