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322:(CNR), completed the conversion of the rail lines in the province from narrow (3 feet 6 inches (107 cm)) to standard (4 feet 8.5 inches (143.5 cm)) gauge. The larger dimensions and weight of standard gauge rail cars and locomotives saw the railway's structural engineers deem the railway bridge unsafe, so a bypass route from
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without any significant delays or closures. For taxation purposes, the
Hillsborough River Bridge structure owned by SCJV is jurisdictionally within the town of Stratford; the municipal boundary between Stratford and Charlottetown is thus located at the western abutment of the bridge on the approach causeway.
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abandoned rail service in PEI on
December 31, 1989) and intersection with Grafton Street and Riverside Drive. Additional redesign work was undertaken on the Southport side of the bridge to allow for a more efficient traffic flow. In 2021 the province built an active transportation trail on the bridge
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Following the opening of the "Short Line", all heavy rail traffic bound for Murray
Harbour was routed through Mount Stewart. The rails on the Hillsborough River Bridge were standard gauged but only lightweight rail cars and locomotives were permitted to use it, thus its use by CNR declined markedly.
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The new bridge used the original soil-infilled approach causeways on both sides of the river that had been used for the railway bridge. Thus, though the span is straight, the overall crossing takes a distinctive curving alignment. The causeways were widened to the Trans-Canada
Highway standard width
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No longer used for rail traffic, CNR wished to rid itself of operating the bridge and tried to get the provincial government to take ownership. The provincial government, which had been getting away with having the federally owned railway company operate this important bridge for many years, sought
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The
Hillsborough River is a 30 km long and up to 1 km wide tidal inlet which empties into Charlottetown Harbour. During the 1800s, a seasonal passenger ferry service operated between the Charlottetown waterfront and Ferry Point on the opposite side. When the river was frozen in winter,
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passenger and freight trains to operate between
Charlottetown and Murray Harbour, as well as pedestrians and horse-drawn carriages and sleighs (and later automobiles) to use the bridge when trains were not crossing; for this purpose, wood planks were placed between and on each side of the rails.
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campus several miles northwest of the bridge abutment. These railcars were pushed in 10-15 car trains to the waterfront and used to in-fill large areas for expanded rail yards and wharves, as well as to build an approach causeway from the
Charlottetown side. A corresponding approach causeway was
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SCJV expanded the bridge in 1995, placing additional continuous span girders on each side of the original structure with expanded piers, then removing of the guardrails and concrete sidewalk and bridge deck from the original structure, replacing it with an integrated deck. This work took place
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In 1950 CNR structural engineers felt the bridge was unsafe for any rail traffic and the rails were removed while the railway instituted taxi service for passengers travelling to Murray
Harbour, allowing them to board passenger trains at its terminus near the bridge abutment in Southport.
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These spans were considered surplus after their heavier replacements were installed, thus the federal government decided to salvage the structure for use on the PEIR's line to Murray
Harbour. Both bridges, consisting of 12 spans, were transported on barges to Prince Edward Island.
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As part of this national project, an improved crossing of the
Hillsborough River was deemed necessary, however it required several years of negotiation over joint federal and provincial funding before construction could begin. A new 2-lane highway bridge opened in 1962 to carry
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project was planned in the 1950s, improving the crossing of the Hillsborough River was deemed essential. A new, improved 2-lane road bridge was built immediately upstream of the old rail bridge, opening in 1962. The bridge was widened to carry 4 lanes of traffic in 1995.
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CNR relented and reopened the bridge, making temporary repairs, however the long-term viability of the bridge, then approaching 85 years of age (when its 30-year service in New Brunswick was taken into account), was in doubt.
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to delay any handover and at one point in the early 1950s, CNR engineers barricaded the bridge to public travel, partly out of concern that the bridge was unsafe, and partly to pressure the provincial negotiators.
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Construction of certain Bridges, Causeways, and Water Control Structures in P.E.I. Period 1951 to 1994 - O.J. McCulloch Engineering Consultants Inc., Public Archives and Records Office, Province of Prince Edward
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In 1992 the Government of Canada signed an agreement with Strait Crossing Joint Venture (SCJV), an international construction consortium, to build the Northumberland Strait Crossing Project (today known as the
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The original railway bridge immediately downstream of the new highway bridge was dismantled and the iron structure was scrapped, although the stone piers were left in place. These became a nesting site for
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for the next three decades (1960s to 1990s). Ice and wind and wave damage by the turn of the 21st century had caused the majority of the old piers to collapse and are now mostly invisible from the bridge.
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Additional work was undertaken by the provincial government on the approach routes to the span, with additional infilling of Charlottetown Harbour to extend Water Street through the former railway yard
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This expansion had been studied since the late 1970s when traffic delays began to occur as residential development took place in areas east of Charlottetown, namely the communities of
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The new bridge structure was constructed using structural steel as an arched truss using 2 piers. The emergency shoulders on the bridge structure were occupied by concrete sidewalks.
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for use by pedestrians and cyclists, in a construction effort that also included a new sewer line connecting Charlottetown to Stratford and bridge strengthening to accommodate both.
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staged a publicity stunt at the Charlottetown abutment of the bridge, boarding a bulldozer and demanding in front of local media, that the bridge be reopened.
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Before installing the structure, the PEIR hauled thousands of rail car loads of soil excavated alongside the railway line east of the
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in the centre to permit ship traffic to operate upriver on the Hillsborough River, with 2 supporting piers when the span was opened.
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of 3 lanes (2 travel lanes and emergency shoulders) and lengthened to narrow the span to roughly half that of the railway bridge.
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167:. The current road bridge, built in 1962, replaced a 1905 rail bridge crossing the same span which was known by the same name.
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The bridge opened in 1905 and immediately revolutionized travel in southeastern Prince Edward Island, allowing
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network across the country. The Prince Edward Island component was planned between the ferry terminals in
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The Prince Edward Island Railway had constructed a railway line from Southport (now part of Stratford) to
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and heavier service, use of the bridge declined until it was deemed unsafe for all traffic in the 1950s.
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over the Hillsborough River parallel to, and immediately upstream of, the single lane railway bridge.
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and cemented into place atop the sandstone bedrock beneath the riverbed. The bridge had a motorized
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The remaining gap had 11 stone piers constructed deep into the mud of the Hillsborough River using
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178:. The single-lane bridge opened in 1905, and incorporated iron spans from two bridges in
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The railway bridge saw steady use through to the early 1930s when the PEIR's successor,
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to handle heavier locomotives and rail cars. The Intercolonial Railway crossed the
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using two iron bridges set upon stone piers, as designed by engineer-in-chief Sir
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built about 30 years earlier. As rail service in the province was converted to
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built on the Southport side using soil excavated along the railway line in
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Prior to 1905, the only access across the Hillsborough River was by ferry.
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By the mid-1950s, the federal government had begun to develop the
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Snowy owl in the ruins of the old Hillsborough River Bridge, 2008.
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Buildings and structures in Queens County, Prince Edward Island
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and high pressure air, with stone being imported from
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horse-drawn sleighs would cross the ice. In 1905, the
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was a sister company to the PEIR in the neighbouring
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Canadian Heritage River System - Hillsborough River
362:The provincial government was outraged and Premier
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1105:Transport in Queens County, Prince Edward Island
539:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
589:Hillsborough Bridge tern and cormorant colonies
174:to complete a rail line from Charlottetown to
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8:
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442:Under the Hillsborough River Bridge, 2007.
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1095:Buildings and structures in Charlottetown
570:Learn how and when to remove this message
382:Hillsborough River Bridge seen from the
1075:Railway bridges in Prince Edward Island
906:Commission scolaire de langue française
16:Bridge in Prince Edward Island, Canada
1054:Charlottetown Library Learning Centre
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1085:Road bridges in Prince Edward Island
1090:Bridges on the Trans-Canada Highway
165:Queens County, Prince Edward Island
890:University of Prince Edward Island
170:The first bridge was built by the
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775:Skmaqn–Port-la-Joye–Fort Amherst
768:Confederation Centre Art Gallery
763:Confederation Centre of the Arts
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29:
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1125:1905 establishments in Canada
967:Island Media Arts Cooperative
1003:Victoria Park, Charlottetown
874:Charlottetown Police Service
205:Prince Edward Island Railway
172:Prince Edward Island Railway
386:side in the summer of 2015.
374:Second bridge, 1962-present
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1110:Transport in Charlottetown
998:Charlottetown Driving Park
817:Charlottetown City Council
320:Canadian National Railways
1120:Bridges completed in 1962
1115:Bridges completed in 1905
848:Hillsborough River Bridge
594:Town of Stratford history
502:List of bridges in Canada
249:Northwest Miramichi River
245:Southwest Miramichi River
145:Hillsborough River Bridge
137:
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23:Hillsborough River Bridge
1012:Buildings and structures
864:Queen Elizabeth Hospital
748:Charlottetown Conference
525:This article includes a
280:St. Dunstan's University
217:3 ft 6 in
180:Miramichi, New Brunswick
1080:Swing bridges in Canada
983:Charlottetown Islanders
822:Charlottetown City Hall
799:Government and politics
628:46.236083°N 63.104611°W
554:more precise citations.
198:First bridge, 1905–1962
1049:Jean Canfield Building
1029:St. Dunstan's Basilica
758:Charlottetown Festival
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324:Mount Stewart Junction
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1039:St. Peter's Cathedral
976:Sports and recreation
900:Public Schools Branch
869:Hillsborough Hospital
838:Charlottetown Airport
678:City of Charlottetown
633:46.236083; -63.104611
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229:Intercolonial Railway
68:46.23583°N 63.10444°W
753:Charlottetown Accord
449:Confederation Bridge
392:Trans-Canada Highway
287:east of the bridge.
191:Trans-Canada Highway
110:Prince Edward Island
35:The bridge from the
1044:Hotel Charlottetown
624: /
584:Hillsborough Bridge
402:via Charlottetown.
328:Lake Verde Junction
73:46.23583; -63.10444
64: /
527:list of references
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233:Maritime provinces
153:Hillsborough River
96:Hillsborough River
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857:Health and safety
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806:Philip Brown
790:Coat of Arms
780:Victoria Row
724:West Royalty
704:East Royalty
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546:Please help
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39:side in 2021
812:Past Mayors
741:and culture
719:Spring Park
631: /
619:63°6′16.6″W
616:46°14′9.9″N
552:introducing
482:Other works
472:Cross Roads
296:Nova Scotia
71: /
46:Coordinates
1069:Categories
937:CBAF-FM-15
843:T3 Transit
508:References
423:cormorants
332:depression
300:swing span
292:cofferdams
883:Education
460:Southport
384:Southport
257:Newcastle
161:Stratford
59:63°6′16″W
56:46°14′9″N
37:Stratford
714:Sherwood
709:Parkdale
699:Downtown
694:Brighton
496:See also
251:between
133:Location
962:CKQK-FM
957:CIOG-FM
952:CHTN-FM
947:CHLQ-FM
942:CFCY-FM
932:CBCT-DT
808:(Mayor)
739:History
729:Winsloe
548:improve
489:CN Rail
468:Keppoch
464:Kinlock
456:Bunbury
408:Route 1
342:Decline
285:Bunbury
189:As the
120:History
92:Crosses
84:Carries
605:Island
396:Borden
253:Nelson
237:Quebec
149:bridge
125:Opened
114:Canada
102:Locale
917:Media
533:, or
427:terns
147:is a
785:Flag
470:and
425:and
398:and
255:and
247:and
235:and
227:The
159:and
143:The
128:1962
326:to
163:in
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