The Vimy Memorial Bridge (previously the Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge) is a bridge in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Completed in 2014, it crosses the

Rideau River The Rideau River (, ) is a river in Eastern Ontario, Canada. The river flows north from Upper Rideau Lake and empties into the Ottawa River at the Rideau Falls in Ottawa, Ontario. Its length is . As explained in a writing by Samuel de Champl ...

, connecting

Strandherd Drive Strandherd Drive is a major road serving the community of Barrhaven in southwest Ottawa. Realignment and extension Up until the mid-1990s, Strandherd Drive was an east-west coursing road extending from Moodie Drive to Woodroffe Avenue. With the ...

Barrhaven Barrhaven is a suburb of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located about southwest of the city's downtown core. Prior to amalgamation with Ottawa in 2001, Barrhaven was part of the City of Nepean. Its population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 10 ...

and Earl Armstrong Road in Riverside South. The bridge was the 2015 winner of the

Gustav Lindenthal Gustav Lindenthal (May 21, 1850 – July 31, 1935) was a civil engineer who designed the Queensboro Bridge, Queensboro and Hell Gate Bridge, Hell Gate bridges in New York City, among other bridges. Lindenthal's work was greatly affected by h ...

Medal. It is named after the

Battle of Vimy Ridge The Battle of Vimy Ridge was part of the Battle of Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France, during the First World War. The main combatants were the four divisions of the Canadian Corps in the First Army, against three divisions of ...

, as suggested by two

Royal Canadian Legion The Royal Canadian Legion is a non-profit Canadian veterans' organization founded in 1925. Members include people who served in the military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, provincial or municipal police, Royal Canadian Air, Army and Sea Cade ...

s in Ottawa.

History

The idea for a bridge in this location was first brought up in 1993 as a road bridge. The location was later revisited as the location for a light rail crossing for the

O-Train The O-Train is a light rail system in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, operated by OC Transpo. The O-Train system consists of three lines, all of which are fully Grade separation, grade-separated. As of March 2025, one line is currently being extended an ...

, but that extension plan was cancelled. In 2010, the city, provincial, and national governments invested equal amounts totalling $48 million in building the bridge. The original contractor hired, ConCreate USL, went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

when the project was about 60% complete and the bonding company, GCNA hired a new contractor, formed by former employees of ConCreate, now known as Horseshoe Hill Construction, to complete its bonded work. The project was initially expected to be completed in 2012."Strandherd bridge moved into place this weekend"
''

Ottawa Sun The ''Ottawa Sun'' is a daily newspaper in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is published by Sun Media. It began publication in 1983 as the ''Ottawa Sunday Herald'', until it was acquired by (then) Toronto Sun Publishing Corporation in 1988. In April 2 ...

'', July 13, 2013. However, due to the contractor going bankrupt and the city's bonding company refusing to accelerate work, the completion date was delayed. The bridge was then due to be open in September 2014 but opened earlier than expected, on 12 July 2014.

Features

The bridge has three vehicle lanes, a dedicated

bus lane A bus lane or bus-only lane is a lane restricted to buses, generally to speed up public transport that would be otherwise held up by traffic congestion. The related term busway describes a roadway completely dedicated for use by buses, whilst ...

, and a

bike lane Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor ...

in each direction. Pedestrian walkways are located on the outside of the bridge on both the north and south side.

Public transit

The bridge's exclusive bus lanes are a part of the Ottawa bus rapid transit system known as the Transitway and are utilized by OC Transpo routes 74 and 99. OC Transpo Route 74 is a high frequency rapid transit route that runs from line 1 at

Tunney's Pasture Tunney's Pasture is a campus in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, that is exclusively developed for federal government buildings. It is bordered by Scott Street to the south, Parkdale Avenue to the east, the Kichi Zibi Mikan to the nort ...

to line 2

Limebank station Limebank station is the terminal station on Line 2 in Ottawa, Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and terri ...

via

Baseline station Baseline station (Transitway (Ottawa), Transitway) or Algonquin station (O-Train) is a public transit station directly across from the main campus of Algonquin College in Ottawa's west end, near the intersection of Woodroffe Avenue and Baseline R ...

at Algonquin College and Barrhaven. The route is shared with OC Transpo Route 75 from Tunney's Pasture to Fallowfield Station. From there route 75 continues on the Transitway to Barrhaven Centre station or Cambrian (at Greenbank). Route 74 leaves the Transitway temporarily to drive south on Woodroffe Ave until it reaches Nepean Woods station, from which it crosses the Vimy Memorial Bridge on the way to Limebank Station. OC Transpo Route 99 operates in both directions from Hurdman station to Barrhaven Centre station via the southeastern Transitway, serves Riverside South via Spratt Road and connects to

Line 2 at

Greenboro station Greenboro station is a transitway stop and O-Train Line 2 (Trillium Line) station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located at Bank Street and Johnston Road at the north end of the South Keys shopping complex. The station has a 678-space paid p ...

, which serves as its northeastern terminus in off-peak hours. During peak hours the route 99 continues onto Hurdman station through Billings Bridge station. The new bridge's exclusive bus lanes have improved transit service in Barrhaven and Riverside South.

References

{{Reflist Bridges in Ottawa Road bridges in Ontario Bridges completed in 2014 2014 establishments in Ontario