Alexandra Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge is a steel
truss
cantilever bridge
spanning the Ottawa River
between Ottawa
, Ontario
and Gatineau
, Quebec
. It is known locally as both the "Alexandra Bridge" and the "Interprovincial Bridge".
between 1898 and 1900. Four barges were built to move steel beams into position. During the winter (1899–1900) workmen toiled day and night chopping channels to keep the ice clear for the barges to pass so that work could continue on the superstructure. Considerable construction delays were caused by the severe winter conditions. By September 1900 the four fixed support spans were complete. The Canadian Society of Civil Engineers held its annual meeting in Ottawa in order that its members might tour the bridge works and see the preparations being made for placing the centre span. The bridge's main cantilever centre span was, at the time of construction, the longest in Canada and the fourth longest in the world. Both records are now held by the Quebec Bridge
. The centre span was successfully put in place on October 7, and a locomotive made a trial run on December 12, 1900. On February 18, 1901 the bridge was officially inaugurated as the Interprovincial Bridge as it had been built by the Ottawa Interprovincial Bridge Company. The name was changed in September 1901 to the "Royal Alexandra Bridge" in honour of the new Queen
during the visit of the Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V
.
The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge crosses the Ottawa River just east of Parliament Hill
at Nepean Point in Ottawa. The bridge was designed primarily to carry CPR train
s but also had a track for local electric trolley
service between Ottawa and Hull, as well as a lane for carriage
traffic. During the late 1950s the bridge was upgraded to carry vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The closure of Ottawa Union Station in 1966 saw the last passenger trains use the Royal Alexandra Bridge and the railway tracks were removed as the bridge became exclusively a vehicular-pedestrian bridge.
On August 21, 1989 the bridge was the site of a noted murder. Alain Brosseau, a waiter at the Chateau Laurier
, was walking home to his apartment in Hull after finishing his shift at 11:30 pm. On his way he passed through Major's Hill Park
. The park was known as a popular gay pick-up area, and six youths were also in the park searching for homosexuals to rob and attack. They saw Brosseau and followed him when he walked to the bridge, believing incorrectly that he was gay. A short way across Brosseau was first hit with a stick and then robbed. Gang member Jeffrey Lalonde then lifted Brosseau and threw him off the bridge. Brosseau was killed instantly when he hit the rocks below. Lalonde was given a life sentence, and died in jail in 2008.
The west deck provides a panorama of the Ottawa-Gatineau skyline, the Ottawa River and Parliament Buildings. That deck is used by rollerblade
rs, cyclists, and pedestrian
s, and is on the official route of the Trans Canada Trail
. The bike lane of the bridge links to two major cross-town bike paths. In Gatineau, there is the Voyageur Pathway that links the Aylmer and Gatineau sectors, while in Ottawa there is the Ottawa River Pathway's western section that links downtown to near Nepean Centre and Kanata
. A third pathway, De l'Île, travels through the Old Hull section beside Boulevard des Allumettières (formerly called Boulevard Saint-Laurent), the road that continues after the bridge on the Gatineau side making a single stretch of road from Eardley Road to the former CFB Rockcliffe
.
At both ends of the bridge are two major museums. In the Gatineau side of the river is the Canadian Museum of Civilization
while on the Ottawa side is the National Art Gallery
while Canadian Mint Museum and the former Canadian War Museum
was located beside the Gallery. Also, on each end of the bridge are two major parks : Major's Hill Park
(Ottawa) and Jacques Cartier Park
(Gatineau) two major venues of the Canadian Tulip Festival and the Canada Day
festivities.
Each day the bridge carries roughly 15,000 vehicles, 2000 pedestrians and 1300 cyclists, as of 2009. A two-year rehabilitation project which began in 2009 is currently in progress, and includes various structural improvements and replacements of the centre concrete deck, the wood boardwalk and guardrails.
Nepean Point
overlooks the bridge from the Ottawa side. The Rideau Canal
meets the Ottawa River
immediately upriver of the bridge's Ottawa abutment.
On Saturday, July 16, 2011, the bridge was closed to public traffic so that an episode of the television series Michael, Tuesdays and Thursdays could be filmed.
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
cantilever bridge
Cantilever bridge
A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using cantilevers, structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end. For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beams; however, large cantilever bridges designed to handle road or rail traffic use trusses built from...
spanning the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
between Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Gatineau
Gatineau
Gatineau is a city in western Quebec, Canada. It is the fourth largest city in the province. It is located on the northern banks of the Ottawa River, immediately across from Ottawa, Ontario, and together they form Canada's National Capital Region. Ottawa and Gatineau comprise a single Census...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. It is known locally as both the "Alexandra Bridge" and the "Interprovincial Bridge".
History
The bridge was constructed by the Canadian Pacific RailwayCanadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
between 1898 and 1900. Four barges were built to move steel beams into position. During the winter (1899–1900) workmen toiled day and night chopping channels to keep the ice clear for the barges to pass so that work could continue on the superstructure. Considerable construction delays were caused by the severe winter conditions. By September 1900 the four fixed support spans were complete. The Canadian Society of Civil Engineers held its annual meeting in Ottawa in order that its members might tour the bridge works and see the preparations being made for placing the centre span. The bridge's main cantilever centre span was, at the time of construction, the longest in Canada and the fourth longest in the world. Both records are now held by the Quebec Bridge
Quebec Bridge
right|thumb|Lifting the centre span in place was considered to be a major engineering achievement. Photo caption from [[Popular Mechanics]] Magazine, December 1917...
. The centre span was successfully put in place on October 7, and a locomotive made a trial run on December 12, 1900. On February 18, 1901 the bridge was officially inaugurated as the Interprovincial Bridge as it had been built by the Ottawa Interprovincial Bridge Company. The name was changed in September 1901 to the "Royal Alexandra Bridge" in honour of the new Queen
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
during the visit of the Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
.
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...
at Nepean Point in Ottawa. The bridge was designed primarily to carry CPR train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s but also had a track for local electric trolley
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
service between Ottawa and Hull, as well as a lane for carriage
Carriage
A carriage is a wheeled vehicle for people, usually horse-drawn; litters and sedan chairs are excluded, since they are wheelless vehicles. The carriage is especially designed for private passenger use and for comfort or elegance, though some are also used to transport goods. It may be light,...
traffic. During the late 1950s the bridge was upgraded to carry vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The closure of Ottawa Union Station in 1966 saw the last passenger trains use the Royal Alexandra Bridge and the railway tracks were removed as the bridge became exclusively a vehicular-pedestrian bridge.
On August 21, 1989 the bridge was the site of a noted murder. Alain Brosseau, a waiter at the Chateau Laurier
Château Laurier
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a landmark hotel in Downtown Ottawa, Ontario located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive designed in the Châteauesque style.-History:...
, was walking home to his apartment in Hull after finishing his shift at 11:30 pm. On his way he passed through Major's Hill Park
Major's Hill Park
Major's Hill Park is one of the most notable parks in downtown Ottawa. The park stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River. Across the canal to the west are the parliament buildings, to the north of the park is the National Gallery of Canada, and to the east are...
. The park was known as a popular gay pick-up area, and six youths were also in the park searching for homosexuals to rob and attack. They saw Brosseau and followed him when he walked to the bridge, believing incorrectly that he was gay. A short way across Brosseau was first hit with a stick and then robbed. Gang member Jeffrey Lalonde then lifted Brosseau and threw him off the bridge. Brosseau was killed instantly when he hit the rocks below. Lalonde was given a life sentence, and died in jail in 2008.
Current use
The bridge now provides an important commuter link between Ottawa and Gatineau. The roadways for vehicles are located on the centre and east decks.The west deck provides a panorama of the Ottawa-Gatineau skyline, the Ottawa River and Parliament Buildings. That deck is used by rollerblade
Rollerblade
Rollerblade is a brand of inline skates owned by Nordica, part of the Tecnica Group of Trevignano, Treviso, Italy.The company was started by Scott Olsen and Brennan Olson in Minneapolis as Ole's Innovative Sports; when they sold the company, it became Rollerblade, Inc...
rs, cyclists, and pedestrian
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
s, and is on the official route of the Trans Canada Trail
Trans Canada Trail
The Trans Canada Trail is a proposed corridor in Canada. The creation of the trail was announced as part of Canada's 125th anniversary celebrations in 1992. It is expected that when complete, it will be the longest recreational trail in the world...
. The bike lane of the bridge links to two major cross-town bike paths. In Gatineau, there is the Voyageur Pathway that links the Aylmer and Gatineau sectors, while in Ottawa there is the Ottawa River Pathway's western section that links downtown to near Nepean Centre and Kanata
Kanata
Kanata is an aboriginal word meaning "village" or "settlement."- Name of Canada :Until the mid-20th century, the Mohawk word "kanata" was thought to have been the origin of Canada's name...
. A third pathway, De l'Île, travels through the Old Hull section beside Boulevard des Allumettières (formerly called Boulevard Saint-Laurent), the road that continues after the bridge on the Gatineau side making a single stretch of road from Eardley Road to the former CFB Rockcliffe
CFB Rockcliffe
Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe is a former Canadian Forces Base located in the eastern part of Ottawa, Ontario, now used for Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum....
.
At both ends of the bridge are two major museums. In the Gatineau side of the river is the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada....
while on the Ottawa side is the National Art Gallery
National Gallery of Canada
The National Gallery of Canada , located in the capital city Ottawa, Ontario, is one of Canada's premier art galleries.The Gallery is now housed in a glass and granite building on Sussex Drive with a notable view of the Canadian Parliament buildings on Parliament Hill. The acclaimed structure was...
while Canadian Mint Museum and the former Canadian War Museum
Canadian War Museum
The Canadian War Museum is Canada’s national museum of military history. Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum covers all facets of Canada’s military past, from the first recorded instances of death by armed violence in Canadian history several thousand years ago to the country’s most recent...
was located beside the Gallery. Also, on each end of the bridge are two major parks : Major's Hill Park
Major's Hill Park
Major's Hill Park is one of the most notable parks in downtown Ottawa. The park stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River. Across the canal to the west are the parliament buildings, to the north of the park is the National Gallery of Canada, and to the east are...
(Ottawa) and Jacques Cartier Park
Jacques Cartier Park
Jacques Cartier Park is a park in Gatineau, Quebec, across the river from the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa. It is named for French explorer Jacques Cartier, who arrived at the mouth of the Ottawa River while he was looking for the Northwest Passage. The National Capital Commission uses the...
(Gatineau) two major venues of the Canadian Tulip Festival and the Canada Day
Canada Day
Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is the national day of Canada, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act , which united three British colonies into a single country, called Canada, within the British Empire...
festivities.
Each day the bridge carries roughly 15,000 vehicles, 2000 pedestrians and 1300 cyclists, as of 2009. A two-year rehabilitation project which began in 2009 is currently in progress, and includes various structural improvements and replacements of the centre concrete deck, the wood boardwalk and guardrails.
Nepean Point
Nepean Point
Nepean Point is a hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, overlooking the Ottawa River, Parliament, the Museum of Civilization, and other features of downtown Ottawa and Gatineau. It is located between the National Gallery of Canada and Alexandra Bridge....
overlooks the bridge from the Ottawa side. The Rideau Canal
Rideau Canal
The Rideau Canal , also known as the Rideau Waterway, connects the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on the Ottawa River to the city of Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. The canal was opened in 1832 as a precaution in case of war with the United States and is still in use today, with most of its...
meets the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
immediately upriver of the bridge's Ottawa abutment.
On Saturday, July 16, 2011, the bridge was closed to public traffic so that an episode of the television series Michael, Tuesdays and Thursdays could be filmed.
Specifications
- Type: truss bridge with five spans
- Length: 563.27 m (1,848 ft)
- Width: 18.89 m (62 ft)
- Height of tower posts: 28.95 m (95 ft)
- Length of main cantilever span: 172.21 m (556 ft)
See also
- List of bridges in Ottawa
- List of crossings of the Ottawa River