Use of weathering steel in City Centre median walls and planter bed edges

Now that work on the streetscape revitalization project in Spruce Grove’s City Centre is substantially complete, we’ve received some questions about the centre median along McLeod Avenue – specifically the appearance of the steel.

Some concerns have been raised that the appearance of the median wall looks rusty. This is because weathering steel (sometimes referred to as Corten steel) was selected for use for both the median wall and planter bed edges.

Why did we choose this option? Quite a few reasons actually!

• It is highly durable, extremely low maintenance. Over time, weathering steel develops a natural, protective patina, so it does not need to be touched-up or re-painted if it is nicked or scratched, which helps keep maintenance costs low. It is also resistant to de-icing salt that would cause rusting to painted steel.
• It provides colour to an environment containing a lot of grey concrete and asphalt. The warm toned, orange/brown patina provides a bit of colour to the street, particularly during the winter when the leaves have fallen, and the planting is dormant. The earth tone is complimentary to the green foliage during the growing seasons. It also ties in with Columbus Park, as this is the same steel that was used for the flower beds in the park.
• Steel is a relatively thin material, which enabled the greatest width of planting to be provided in the median. This ensures the median can include more soil (to help sustain healthy trees) and planting, resulting in a greater visual impact.

We appreciate the community’s interest in this project and hope this helps to answer any questions you may have about this part of the design!

Rendering showing the look of the weathered steel on the median.

Example of what weathered steel looks like up close.

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