The Hartland Bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick

Hartland, New Brunswick

Hartland is a town in Carleton County, New Brunswick, Canada.Hartland is situated on the Saint John River in the central-western portion of the province in the agricultural heartland of Carleton County. It is the hometown of two of New Brunswick's premiers during the 20th century: Hugh John...

, is the world's longest covered bridge

Covered bridge

A covered bridge is a bridge with enclosed sides and a roof, often accommodating only a single lane of traffic. Most covered bridges are wooden; some newer ones are concrete or metal with glass sides...

, at 1282 feet (390.8 m) long. It crosses the Saint John River from Hartland to Somerville

Somerville, New Brunswick

Somerville is a Canadian rural community in Carleton County, New Brunswick.Somerville is located on Route 103 between Wakefield and Hartland. The Hartland Bridge, the longest covered bridge in the world, crosses the Saint John River between Hartland and Somerville.----...

 in Canada. The framework consists of seven small Howe Truss bridges joined together on six piers.

History

The bridge was constructed in 1901 by the Hartland Bridge Company. It was funded by tolls until it was purchased by the provincial government in 1906. The bridge was not originally built covered. The 1907 fire burnt some of the structure and nearly destroyed the toll house.

In 1920, two spans of the bridge collapsed due to river ice. The bridge reopened in 1922 after construction to repair the structure, at which time the bridge was also covered, despite some local opposition. The wooden piers were also converted to concrete.

A pedestrian walkway was added to the bridge in 1945. In 1966, vandals attempted to burn the bridge down. The bridge was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1980.

In 1982, the bridge was again closed for repairs after a car struck a steel beam, causing part of the bridge to drop. The bridge was reopened to traffic on February 10, 1983.

In the winter of 2007, the bridge was closed, due to the central beam splitting down the middle, it has since been reopened after repairs were carried out.

Legends

When the bridge was mostly used by horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

 and wagon

Wagon

A wagon is a heavy four-wheeled vehicle pulled by draught animals; it was formerly often called a wain, and if low and sideless may be called a dray, trolley or float....

, couples would stop half-way across to share a kiss

Kiss

A kiss is the act of pressing one's lips against the lips or other body parts of another person or of an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, affection, respect, greeting, friendship, and good...

. The first wedding

Wedding

A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...

 on the bridge was celebrated in September 1993 between Charmaine Laffoley and David Hunt from Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

.