History of Vancouver Bridges

As a city renowned for its stunning combinationwas named after the Lions, a pair of mountain
of majestic mountains, flourishing green andpeaks in North Vancouver and contains three
rushing rivers and creeks; Vancouver requires areversible lanes each equipped with overhead lane
variety of bridges to link it all together. The citysignals to indicate availability of the lane.
itself has eight important bridges (excluding theTalks surrounding the formation of the Lions Gate
Capilano suspension bridge): three of them extendstarted in 1890, when many bridge builders saw
over the Fraser River on the edge of Vancouverthe necessity of a bridge the would cross the
on the south-side, an additional three stretch overfirst narrows of the Burrard Inlet. There was
False Creek connecting downtown Vancouver tomuch dispute on whether the construction should
other parts of the city and the remaining twogo through; many protested that it would ruin
cross over the Burrard Inlet and connectStanley Park, get in the way of the busy seaport
downtown Vancouver to West Vancouver andor take away toll revenue from the Second
the North Shore. This article looks into the historyNarrows Bridge. But others thought it was needed
and beginnings of the Lions Gate and Secondto open up development to the North Shore and
Narrows bridges; it will also discuss the Goldenthat many of the problems proposed could be
Ears Bridge, the newest bridge in the Greatermanaged. It was not until 1933 that a majority
Vancouver region.vote for the bridge went through. Although Alfred
Second Narrows Bridge/Ironworkers MemorialJames Towle, a member of the bridge proposal
The Ironworkers Memorial Bridge is a vertical lifteffort, owned the provincial franchise to build the
railway bridge that extends over the secondstructure, he did not have the finances to
narrowing of the Burrard Inlet. It is known to bepurchase the large sections of land needed in
the very first bridge to connect the municipalitiesNorth and West Vancouver. He turned to the
of Vancouver with those in the North Shore.Guinness Family (of the renowned Irish beer) to
Discussion regarding the construction of thehelp fund the project and invest in the land that
Second Narrows began back in the clamour ofwas necessary.
the Klondike Gold Rush where numerous railwayThe bridge was designed by Montreal-based
companies sought to build a railway the extendedMonsarrat and Pratley and although it initially was
from Vancouver to the Dawson gold fields. Whilebuilt with two lanes, the road was later repainted
many efforts were taken to push thewith three lanes to accommodate more vehicles.
construction through, there were also manySince its construction, the Lions Gate has been
problems: the North Shore was not developedrestored and rebuilt by the City of Vancouver to
enough, companies that were to fund the projectprolong its longevity and to allow for more
became bankrupt and the beginning of World Warcommuters such as bikers and pedestrians.
I had the government’s concentrationGolden Ears Bridge
elsewhere.While the Golden Ears Bridge is not directly
The bridge was eventually erected in 1925 byattached to the city of Vancouver, it is the latest
John Stewart and Northern Construction. It beganbridge to be constructed in the Lower Mainland of
with only a car deck but was expanded toBritish Columbia and is considered the longest
accommodate trains a year later. After being hitextradosed bridge in North America. As a
by ships on a number of occasions and being outdevelopment of Translink, the South Coast British
of service for approximately 4 years, theColumbia Transportation Authority, this six-lane
provincial government bought the bridge in 1933structure crosses over the Fraser River and
and set up a lift section of the deck. During theconnects the communities on the south end of
1960s, a newer, much larger and higher six laneLangley and Surrey with those on the North end
Second Narrows Bridge was constructed asideof Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows. It was officially
the former bridge. The original bridge became oneopened for traffic on June 16, 2009.
solely for rail use. In 1994, the new bridge wasNamed after the twin mountain peaks that
designated the Ironworkers Memorial Secondsurvey the bridge area from north of the Fraser
Narrows Crossing in honour of those who lostRiver, the Golden Ears Bridge is also said to be
their lives during the bridge’s construction.the most substantial improvement to the Greater
Lions Gate BridgeVancouver road system since the creation of the
The Lions Gate Bridge, also referred to as theAlex Fraser Bridge in 1986. Studies have also
First Narrows Bridge, is a suspension bridge thatrevealed that this new bridge will have a positive
stretches across the Burrard Inlet and linkslong term impact in the area, improving travel
downtown Vancouver with the communities oftimes and enhancing economic activity.
West Vancouver and the North Shore. The bridge