Metal panels used to modernize border crossing
by Jonathan McGaha | October 4, 2011 12:00 am
Commissioned by the Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Authority, the $50 million project modernized, renovated and expanded the GSA Sault Ste. Marie Canadian Bridge Plaza in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, the 10th-busiest border crossing between the U.S. and Canada. The border crossing handles approximately 1.9 million passenger and commercial vehicles and $1.8 billion in trade a year flowing between the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. The newly redesigned border plaza includes a larger, two-story building for the Canada Border Services Agency; seven primary inspection lanes-four for passenger cars, two bi-level lanes for trucks and cars, and a dedicated lane for trucks; on-site inspection facilities for cars and trucks; NEXUS and FAST systems; and a VACIS x-ray scanning system. The Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Authority evaluated various expansion plans for its possible impact on the cultural, socioeconomic, natural and archeological environment.
Completed in November 2010, Eastman, Ga.- based border crossingsupplied 13,000 square feet of 4-mm Reynobond Natural Brushed aluminum composite material panels with a PE core and coated with a Durabrite C clear protective sealant. The ACM panels were installed on the curved primary and secondary canopies at soffit, fascia and parapet locations. The steel structures were field surveyed and a 3-D model was constructed to achieve the precise layout for the galvanized framing system and ACM panel enclosures. The ACM was selected to replace existing canvas canopies that could not support the heavy snows during Northern Michigan winters. The Natural Brushed ACM was selected by the design team for its superior flatness and its natural metal characteristics of brushed aluminum, in addition to meeting budget requirements.
The building owner is International Bridge Administration, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. Ross Barney Architects Inc., Chicago, designed the buildings and Julie Snow Architects Inc., Minneapolis, completed the canopy study and did the redesign portion of the project. Industrial Maintenance Services Inc., Escanaba, Mich., was the general contractor, and Riverside Group, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, was the panel fabricator and installer.
Alcoa Architectural Products,
www.alcoaarchitecturalproducts.com
Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/projects/gsa-sault-ste-marie-canadian-bridge-plaza-in-sault-ste-marie-ontario-canada/