KELOWNA, BC
Bertram Pedestrian Overpass
The City of Kelowna commissioned the Bertram Street Overpass as a major pillar of a long-term, active transportation plan.
Nestled in the Okanagan Valley of southern British Columbia, Kelowna has experienced rapid population growth, including multiple years as the fastest growing city in Canada. The city’s longstanding plans address the challenges of population growth and rising demands on civic infrastructure.
Open to the public in June 2025, the Bertram Pedestrian Overpass demonstrates how civic vision, design, and project execution create affordable and accessible transportation infrastructure. An aesthetically pleasing design that serves function and form, the bridge includes a customizable, colourful lighting system that gently illuminates the site.
The City of Kelowna wanted to ensure that the project would deliver a bridge that meets the needs of the community while staying within a predetermined budget. Entuitive collaborated with the City and Bird Construction in a progressive design-build partnership. As the prime consultant and design lead, we maintained a disciplined approach to manage costs and maintain an efficient schedule.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
CLIENT
City of Kelowna
ARCHITECT
Dub
OUR ROLE(S)
Bridge Engineering Consultant, Construction Engineering Consultant, Sustainability Consultant, Accessibility Design Consultant
SIZE
47.4m span
BUDGET
$12.1M
MARKET (OFFICE)
Vancouver
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Challenge One
The construction site was adjacent to the active highway, residential structures, and a parkade that was also under construction.
Solution One
Entuitive and the project team communicated and collaborated with multiple groups, including the parkade construction contractor, to create a feedback loop that enabled better planning and real-time adjustments that ensured work would proceed on time.
Challenge Two
Irregular approaches, multiple spans, and the highway’s designation as a major roadway increased the difficulty of fulfilling seismic requirements outlined in the CSA S6-19 specification.
Solution Two
Entuitive utilized elastic dynamic analysis, inelastic static push-over analysis, and a performance design base to achieve the bridge seismic classification CSA S6-19 mandated by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI).
