The J.C. Van Horne Bridge is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 steel through truss/steel deck truss bridge crossing the Restigouche River

Restigouche River

The Restigouche River is a river that flows across the northwestern part of the province of New Brunswick and the southeastern part of Quebec....

 between Campbellton

Campbellton, New Brunswick

Campbellton is a Canadian city in Restigouche County, New Brunswick.Situated on the south bank of the Restigouche River opposite Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec, Campbellton was officially incorporated in 1889 and achieved city status in 1958.Forestry and tourism are major industries in the regional...

, New Brunswick

New Brunswick

New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...

 and Pointe-à-la-Croix

Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec

Pointe-à-la-Croix is a town located on the Restigouche River in the Gaspésie region of eastern Quebec, Canada. The town is situated across from the city of Campbellton, New Brunswick. As of 2001, the town had a population of 1,513....

, 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....

.

Built between June 1958 and October 1961, the bridge was opened to traffic on October 15, 1961. As an interprovincial crossing, the bridge was constructed under a three-party agreement between the governments of Canada, New Brunswick and Quebec.

Measuring 805 m (2641.07 ft) in total length, the bridge consists of four deck-truss approach-spans joined in the middle with a cantilever-through-truss structure. The middle structure is composed of two anchor spans and one clear span over the navigational channel measuring 380 m (1246.71 ft). It carries 2 traffic lanes and 2 sidewalks.

History

Crossing the Restigouche River between Campbellton, NB and Pointe-à-la-Croix, QC had long been a bone of contention by locals in both provinces. A federally-funded inter-provincial ferry service between the two communities had proven adequate until the 1950s when vehicle traffic began to grow at much higher rate than forecast.

By the late-1950s, local New Brunswick PC Member of Parliament J.C. Van Horne

Charles Van Horne

Joseph Charles Van Horne , also known as J.C. or Charlie, was a politician in New Brunswick, Canada, and the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick between 1966 and 1967....

made the case for a bridge and invited representatives from the federal and provincial governments to witness a "typical weekend" lineup at the ferry. Van Horne had chosen the Ste. Anne Feast weekend (On or around July 26th) where the lineups would be predictably long on both sides.

The government representatives were convinced of the need for a bridge to replace the ferry service and acceded to Van Horne's wishes. The bridge was later named in his honour.