Canadian construction company PCL Construction is celebrating a major milestone in the construction of George Brown College’s new Limberlost Place on Toronto’s waterfront, with the installation of a mass timber pedestrian bridge. 

Standing 65 feet above street level, the structure connects level five of Limberlost Place to level six of the college’s Daphne Cockwell Center for Health Sciences. The 10-story Limberlost Place is reportedly set to be the first mass timber, net-zero carbon emissions institutional building of its kind in Ontario. It was designed by a team consisting of Moriyama and Teshima Architects and Acton Ostry Architects. The building is expected to be completed by 2024 and will be open for classes in January 2025. 

Video via PCL Construction on YouTube 

The pedestrian bridge stretches approximately 70 feet and is made up of two glue-laminated trusses and four cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. Individual CLT pieces were prefabricated at an off-site location before being shipped and built on-site. After four days of assembly, the team executed a complex one-day lift to install the structure. 

“This accomplishment truly showcases the exemplary level of skill, and patience it takes to ensure everything goes according to plan,” said PCL Toronto’s district manager Myke Badry. “Congratulations to the entire project team as we move one step closer to the completion of this revolutionary project that is setting a precedent in mass timber construction.”