Extreme ice load events on the Confederation Bridge

The paper describes a series of events on the instrumented piers of the Confederation Bridge that resulted in the highest loads measured on these piers. Several of the interactions were with ice features that could be described as extreme, and thus would be expected to cause extreme loads. The interactions are described in some detail, using the available video recordings, surveys of the ice features, and information for the sensors installed on and adjacent to the bridge. The resulting load traces have been analyzed in detail to provide the best estimates of the loads. The maximum loads recorded, despite the extreme nature of the interaction, were, at most, 50% of the design ice loads.