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564:. However, in September 2019, Ottawa Mayor Watson declared that the Prince of Wales bridge will “never” be used for interprovincial commuter rail, offering the explanation that it would be "far too congested to have so many people drop off at one of the busiest intersections in our LRT system", though without offering explanation as to why the recently-built station in question, which could have been designed to manage this commuter traffic, was effectively designed to block any future use of the railway.
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which wanted to use the bridge as part of a commuter rail project spanning the Ottawa River. The order in council dated April 5 stated that "the agency's decision went against national policy because it would force a railway company to invest in an "unused and non-profitable railway line," or discontinue it permanently", despite the Moose consortium indicating that it actively wanted to invest in this rail infrastructure.
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a portion of the rail line leading to the bridge or to restore the tracks so they can accommodate rail traffic within 12 months. In statements, Ottawa mayor Jim Watson asserted that, "We don't have the funds to put rail across to Quebec at this point." While there had been funding put aside for the work several years earlier, it has since been re-directed to a pedestrian bridge over the
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537:
In
February 2018, the Canadian Transportation Agency ruled that the city breached its duty as a rail line owner when it dismantled a section of tracks near the bridge in order to build a new entrance to Bayview Station of the new Light Rail System. The CTA gave the City of Ottawa two options: to sell
580:
In
December 2020, the City of Ottawa began considering an interim multi-use pathway on the bridge. In July 2021, Ottawa City Council committed to spending $ 14 million to upgrade the bridge into a pedestrian bridge, and officially renamed the bridge to the Chief William Commanda Bridge, in honour of
545:
In April 2019 (a federal election year), the
Federal Cabinet issued an Order In Council rescinding the Canadian Transportation Agency's decision, meaning that the City of Ottawa would no longer need to appeal the order to repair the rail link, also rejecting a petition from Moose Consortium Ltd.,
517:
In
September 2016 the City of Ottawa spent $ 46,000 to install new chain-link fences to block entrance to the bridge, although the fence was breached shortly afterwards. In September 2016, a pop-up picnic led by residents was organized in opposition to the proposed barricades. At the end of year
513:
In 2016, City of
Gatineau officials showed great interest in the bridge as a transit link between the two cities, but modifications would need to be made, as there is only enough room for a single track on the bridge; the City of Ottawa has now permanently built over this rail infrastructure to
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Anishinabeg First Nation from 1951 to 1970. $ 8.6 million was pledged to the project by the federal government. Construction began in the fall of 2021, and the multi-use pathway was expected to be completed by the fall of 2022 with additional rehabilitation work being completed by 2024.
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In May 2022, the City of Ottawa was sued for $ 1.5 million in a negligence case involving the death of a 14-year-old boy who drowned after climbing through the fencing barring access to the bridge and jumping into the Ottawa River. According to the family's lawyer,
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The bridge served well into the 20th century, but as rail transport diminished and more efficient routes became more common, the line saw less traffic. In 1999, the City of Ottawa leased the CPR line, including the bridge, for the construction of the
402:. At that time, it was one of the few crossings of the Ottawa River, and was one of the most valuable assets of the line, which was owned by the Quebec provincial government. The QMO&O continued to lose money, however, and it was purchased by the
504:
has received 51 calls about activities at the bridge, three of which resulted in charges being laid, though no complaints related to the structural safety of the bridge itself, rather to possible criminal activity occurring on the property.
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2016, the city had no plans to convert the bridge into a pedestrian or cycling path, which it said would cost $ 10.5 million. Rather, their stated goal was to use the bridge as an interprovincial rail link, connecting
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530:, although there has now been permanent and illegal building over of this rail infrastructure by the City of Ottawa. It was also proposed that this rail link might become part of a proposed
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377:, consisting of six equal spans over the south channel, and seven spans over the north channel; the second-last span, proceeding northward, is longer by a factor of about 1.7.
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In 2005, the bridge was disconnected from the tracks just before its approach on the Ottawa side; this was done for a water line project being built along the
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329:, Quebec, Canada. It connects the Trillium Pathway in Ottawa to the Voyageurs Pathway in Gatineau. The bridge crosses the south channel of the river to
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and the bridge became overgrown. As the purchase of the bridge included the approaches on both sides, the City of Ottawa now owns property in Quebec.
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While the bridge was closed, city officials reported safety concerns. Between
January 1, 2005 and August 29, 2016 the
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Chief
William Commanda Bridge, south approach, August 2023 after it was opened to pedestrian and cyclist traffic
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City of Ottawa Report to
Corporate Services and Economic Development Committee and Council, 7 December 2004
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On 4 August 2023, the bridge opened for pedestrian and cyclist use. In
November, it closed for the winter.
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791:"Family of Ottawa boy who died in jump from Prince of Wales bridge sues City of Ottawa for negligence"
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eventually fell through and it was repurposed for pedestrian and cycling use as part of the
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system, which would launch in 2028, would see it cross the bridge to link to Ottawa's
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1125:"Chief William Commanda Bridge multi-use pathway and rehabilitation project"
668:"Chief William Commanda Bridge multi-use pathway and rehabilitation project"
964:"Future of Prince of Wales Bridge still unclear after regulator's decision"
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924:"Ottawa residents stage pop-up picnic to save Prince of Wales rail bridge"
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1046:"Adam: Never say 'never' to a rail link along the Prince of Wales bridge"
819:"Ottawa police called to Prince of Wales Bridge 51 times — over 10 years"
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in 1901, the second railway bridge to cross the river between Ottawa and
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686:"The Railways of Ottawa: Hull - Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental"
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The bridge was used by rail traffic for the last time on July 26, 2001.
406:(CPR) in 1882, which connected it with their other recent purchase, the
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and continues across the northern channel into the
Province of Quebec.
1099:"Former Prince of Wales Bridge gets renamed, and $ 14M in city funding"
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1169:"Chief William Commanda Bridge closed for winter, City of Ottawa says"
897:"Stop damaging the Prince of Wales bridge barriers, councillor pleads"
1018:"Cabinet overturns order to repair Prince of Wales Bridge | CBC News"
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758:. Vol. 45, no. 1. Bytown Railway Society. pp. 6–10.
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Planning, Real Estate and Economic Development Dept (2021-12-21).
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988:"Funding for Prince of Wales Bridge transferred to canal project"
882:"City questioned over rail line removal for LRT work | CBC News"
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The bridge remained unused and the section of track between the
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1032:"Quebec pledges to fund Gatineau's light rail plans | CBC News"
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As of June 2019, the City of Gatineau's design for its planned
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would later declare that this original plan was unworkable.
750:
Churcher, Colin J. (January 2006). Roberts, Earl W. (ed.).
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Chief William Commanda Bridge, south approach, July 2005
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purchased the bridge and associated rail corridors for
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in 2005. Initial plans to incorporate it as part of an
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Broadcasting Corporation, Canadian (4 August 2023).
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Bridge between Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec
1070:"Prince of Wales Bridge interim multi-use pathway"
514:create the new Trillium Line station at Bayview.
46:Looking west to the Chief William Commanda Bridge
708:"The Railways of Ottawa: Findings of the Circle"
392:Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway
203:0 (rails have been removed for re-opening as a
459:as part of the Lebreton Flats revitalization.
352:for most of its history. It was bought by the
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340:The bridge formerly connected with the
420:Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge
846:Pfeffer, Amanda (20 September 2016).
622:List of crossings of the Ottawa River
418:. The bridge was joined by the CPR's
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551:Société de transport de l'Outaouais
895:Willing, Jon (21 September 2016).
470:million as part of a plan to link
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858:Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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1080:from the original on 2021-02-22
817:Willing, Jon (6 October 2016).
18:Prince of Wales Bridge (Canada)
1541:1880 establishments in Ontario
712:Colin Churcher's Railway Pages
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1546:1880 establishments in Quebec
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1232:Chief William Commanda Bridge
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1167:Glass, Marlo (Nov 21, 2023).
789:Duffy, Andrew (May 3, 2022).
476:Gatineau's light rail systems
295:Chief William Commanda Bridge
137:Chief William Commanda Bridge
34:Chief William Commanda Bridge
1551:Pedestrian bridges in Canada
390:The bridge was built by the
342:Bytown and Prescott Railway
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303:Pont Chef-William-Commanda
270:reopened on August 4, 2023
145:Pont Chef-William-Commanda
1556:Cyclist bridges in Canada
1521:Bridges completed in 1880
1506:Railway bridges in Quebec
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617:List of bridges in Ottawa
585:who was the chief of the
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1459:Macdonald-Cartier Bridge
404:Canadian Pacific Railway
350:Canadian Pacific Railway
348:and was operated by the
94:Pedestrians and cyclists
1536:Truss bridges in Canada
903:. Postmedia Network Inc
647:Royal eponyms in Canada
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502:Ottawa Police Service
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75:45.41556°N 75.72778°W
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189:Rail characteristics
1526:Pratt truss bridges
1516:Bridges in Gatineau
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394:in 1880, named for
370:It is a multi-span
80:45.41556; -75.72778
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1469:Tour Eiffel Bridge
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1400:Maisonneuve
907:21 November
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827:. Postmedia
612:Letsgomoose
315:rail bridge
313:and former
213:Track gauge
78: /
53:Coordinates
1495:Categories
1409:Principale
1380:du Plateau
1238:Downstream
1134:2022-03-11
1109:2021-07-07
1103:CBC Ottawa
1084:2021-02-21
1055:2021-03-07
998:2018-02-20
973:2018-02-20
756:Branchline
654:References
560:system at
520:OC Transpo
480:Jim Watson
335:Nepean Bay
66:75°43′40″W
63:45°24′56″N
1129:ottawa.ca
764:0824-233X
412:North Bay
367:network.
154:Named for
135:English:
1385:Fournier
1361:d'Aylmer
1292:Gatineau
1222:Upstream
1078:Archived
968:CBC News
605:See also
534:system.
327:Gatineau
321:between
283:Location
232: in
127:, Canada
121:Gatineau
1437:Bridges
1405:Maloney
1395:Laurier
934:4 March
863:19 July
769:18 July
558:O-Train
381:History
309:, is a
260:History
227:⁄
99:Crosses
91:Carries
1390:Gréber
1286:Major
853:CBC.ca
802:May 3,
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472:Ottawa
468:CA$ 11
323:Ottawa
299:French
275:Closed
265:Opened
199:tracks
179:Design
158:Chief
141:French
117:Ottawa
113:Locale
1288:roads
568:2020s
509:2010s
448:2000s
372:Pratt
166:Owner
936:2018
909:2016
865:2021
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771:2021
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474:and
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