New Westminster Bridge

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Coordinates: 49°12′29″N 122°53′39″W / 49.208167°N 122.894204°W / 49.208167; -122.894204 (New Westminster Bridge)
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

New Westminster Bridge
Waddel & Hedrick[1]
Construction startAugust 1902[1]
OpenedJuly 23, 1904[1]
Statistics
Daily traffic46 freight trains per day[4]
Location
Map

The New Westminster Bridge (also known as the New Westminster Rail Bridge (NSRW)[3] or the Fraser River Swing Bridge) is a swing bridge that crosses the Fraser River and connects New Westminster with Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

The bridge is owned by the Government of Canada, operated and maintained by the Canadian National Railway, with the Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRY), Canadian Pacific Railway, and BNSF Railway having track usage rights,[3] as do Amtrak's Cascades (with service to Portland and Seattle) and Via Rail's The Canadian (with service to Toronto).

History

Fire on the New Westminster Bridge in May 1982

The New Westminster Bridge was constructed in 1904 and formally opened on July 23 by the

Lieutenant governor of British Columbia.[1] It was originally built with two decks; the lower deck was used for rail traffic while the upper deck was used for automobile traffic.[5]

Crossing the river prior to the construction of the New Westminster Bridge required using the K de K ferry[6] which would dock at the present day neighbourhood of South Westminster (formerly the historic community of Brownsville) located in the city of Surrey.

The toll for the upper bridge was 25 cents[citation needed] and created quite an uproar for farmers who found out quickly that by taking their livestock across on foot would cost them a quarter a head but if they put them in a truck it cost a quarter for the whole load.

The bridge was the preferred method of transport across the Fraser until the opening of the

Canadian National Railway Co. v. Norsk Pacific Steamship Co. became a leading Supreme Court of Canada decision.[8]

As of 2004[update], the speed limit for trains was 11 miles per hour (18 kilometres per hour), which had been increased from 8 mph (13 km/h).[3]: 38 

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Legacy of Waddell & Harrington Sets Stage for Future Success". Hardesty & Hanover.
  2. ^ Washington state long-range plan for Amtrak Cascades (PDF) (Report). Freight Systems Division, Washington State Department of Transportation. February 2006. pp. E–3 to E–5 – via All Aboard Washington.
  3. ^ a b c d Lower mainland rail infrastructure study (PDF). Greater Vancouver Gateway Council (Report). December 17, 2004. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "The system in 2030 - Rail". Greater Vancouver Gateway Council. Retrieved January 2, 2024.
  5. ISBN 978-1550175615
    .
  6. ^ "Bo P275 - ["K de K" steam ferry on the Fraser River]". City of Vancouver. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  7. ^ "New Westminster Bridge fire with tugboats attending". City of New Westminster. May 29, 1982. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  8. doi:10.4324/9781843145790-45
    .

External links
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