The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge (), also known as the Alexandra Bridge () or Interprovincial Bridge (), is a steel

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

spanning the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

between

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. In addition to carrying vehicle traffic, a

shared use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is "designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists". Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

way on the bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is maintained by the National Capital Commission. The bridge was designated by the

Canadian Society for Civil Engineering The Canadian Society for Civil Engineering (CSCE) () was founded in 1887 as the Canadian Society of Civil Engineers, renamed in 1918 as the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC), and re-established in June 1972 as a member society of the EIC under ...

a National Historic Civil Engineering Site in June 1995. It was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway until it was taken over by the National Capital Commission in 1970. It is now owned by the Government of Canada and maintained by

Public Services and Procurement Canada Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC; ),''Public Services and Procurement Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Public Works and Government Services (). formerly Public Works ...

(PSPC). In 2019, the Canadian government directed that the bridge was to be replaced by the year 2032, not without raising questions on the soundness of the decision, both inside and outside the government. The bridge was closed for vehicles from October 2023 till February 2025 as essential rehabilitation and repair work was being completed.

History

The bridge was constructed by the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

between 1898 and 1900. Four barges were built to move steel beams into position. During the winter (1899–1900) workmen toiled day and night chopping channels to keep the ice clear for the barges to pass so that work could continue on the superstructure. Considerable construction delays were caused by the severe winter conditions. By September 1900 the four fixed support spans were complete. The

Canadian Society of Civil Engineers The Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) (French language, French: l'Institut canadien des ingénieurs; ICI) is a federation of fourteen engineering societies based in Canada, covering a broad range of list of engineering branches, engineering bran ...

held its annual meeting in

in order that its members might tour the bridge works and see the preparations being made for placing the centre span. The bridge's main cantilever centre span was, at the time of construction, the longest in Canada and the fourth-longest in the world. Both records are now held by the

Quebec Bridge The Quebec Bridge () is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy, Quebec City, Sainte-Foy (a former suburb that in 2002 became the arrondissement Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge in Quebec Cit ...

. The centre span was successfully put in place on October 7, and a locomotive made a trial run on December 12, 1900. On February 18, 1901, the bridge was officially inaugurated as the Interprovincial Bridge as it had been built by the Ottawa Interprovincial Bridge Company. The name was changed in September 1901 to the "Royal Alexandra Bridge" in honour of the new

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

during the visit of her son, the Duke of Cornwall and York, later

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge crosses the Ottawa River just east of

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

at Nepean Point in Ottawa. The bridge was designed primarily to carry CPR trains but also had a track for local electric trolley service between Ottawa and Hull, as well as a lane for

carriage A carriage is a two- or four-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle for passengers. In Europe they were a common mode of transport for the wealthy during the Roman Empire, and then again from around 1600 until they were replaced by the motor car around 1 ...

traffic. A large fire severely damaged the bridge in 1946, permanently terminating trolley traffic. During the late 1950s the bridge was upgraded to carry

vehicular A vehicle () is a machine designed for self-propulsion, usually to transport people, cargo, or both. The term "vehicle" typically refers to land vehicles such as human-powered vehicles (e.g. bicycles, tricycles, velomobiles), animal-power ...

and pedestrian traffic. The closure of Ottawa Union Station in 1966 saw the last passenger trains use the Royal Alexandra Bridge and the railway tracks were removed as the bridge became exclusively a vehicular-pedestrian bridge. On August 21, 1989, the bridge was the site of a noted murder. Alain Brosseau, a waiter at the

Château Laurier The Fairmont Château Laurier is a hotel with 429 guest rooms in the downtown core of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Located near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive, it is designed in a French Gothic Revival Châteauesque style to co ...

, was walking home to his apartment in Hull after finishing his shift at 11:30 pm. On his way he passed through Major's Hill Park. The park was known as a popular gay cruising area, and six youths were also in the park searching for homosexuals to rob and attack. They saw Brosseau and followed him when he walked to the bridge, believing incorrectly that he was gay. A short way across Brosseau was first hit with a stick and then robbed. Gang member Jeffrey Lalonde then lifted Brosseau and threw him off the bridge. Brosseau was killed instantly when he hit the rocks below. Lalonde was given a life sentence, and died in jail in 2008. The bridge is designated by the

a National Historic Civil Engineering Site in June 1895. It was owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway until it was taken over by the National Capital Commission in 1970. It is now (2018) owned by the Government of Canada and maintained by

(PSPC).

Current use

The bridge provided an important commuter link between Ottawa and Gatineau. The roadways for vehicles are located on the centre and east decks. Centre deck road surface is paved while the east deck is a metal steel grating. The west deck provides a panorama of the Ottawa-Gatineau skyline, the Ottawa River and Parliament Buildings. That deck is used by rollerbladers, cyclists, and pedestrians, and is on the official route of the

Trans Canada Trail The Trans Canada Trail is a cross-Canada system of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, Arctic oceans. The trail extends over ; it is now the longe ...

. The bike lane of the bridge links to two major cross-town bike paths. In Gatineau, there is the Voyageur Pathway that links the Aylmer and Gatineau sectors, while in Ottawa there is the Ottawa River Pathway's western section that links downtown to Carling Avenue. A third pathway, De l'Île, travels through the Old Hull section beside

Boulevard des Allumettières A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway or wide road in a commercial district. In Europe, boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former ...

(formerly called Boulevard Saint-Laurent), the road that continues after the bridge on the Gatineau side making a single stretch of road from Eardley Road to the former

CFB Rockcliffe Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe (also CFB Rockcliffe) is a former Canadian Forces Base located in the eastern part of Ottawa, Ontario, now used for Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum. It was formerly known as CFB ...

. At both ends of the bridge are two major museums. In the Gatineau side of the river is the

Canadian Museum of History The Canadian Museum of History () is a national museum on anthropology, Canadian history, cultural studies, and ethnology in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. The purpose of the museum is to promote the heritage of Canada, as well as support related res ...

while on the Ottawa side is the National Art Gallery while the Canadian Mint Museum and the former

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (CWM) () is a National museums of Canada, national museum on the military history of Canada, country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military hist ...

was located beside the Gallery. Also, on each end of the bridge are two major parks: Major's Hill Park (Ottawa) and Jacques Cartier Park (Gatineau) two major venues of the Canadian Tulip Festival and the

Canada Day Canada Day, formerly known as Dominion Day, is the national day of Canada. A Public holidays in Canada, federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867, with the passing of the B ...

festivities. The bridge used to carry roughly 15,000 vehicles, 2000 pedestrians and 1300 cyclists each day, as of 2009. A two-year rehabilitation project which began in 2009, included various structural improvements and replacements of the centre concrete deck, the wood boardwalk and guardrails. Nepean Point overlooks the bridge from the Ottawa side. The

Rideau Canal The Rideau Canal is a 202-kilometre long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 Lock (water navigation), locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 metres (272 ...

meets the

immediately upriver of the bridge's Ottawa abutment. In 2017, following an assessment that found important deterioration of some members of the steel structure, repairs to the structure were planned. In late 2018, a cost analysis suggested that replacing the bridge would be less disruptive and less expensive than maintaining it. In the federal budget of March of the following year, the Canadian government directed the bridge to be replaced by the year 2032. By 2020, the Coalition for the Alexandra Bridge had formed to oppose to the hasty decision to demolish the landmark and request independent studies by conservation engineers to determine viable preservation options. In October 2023, the bridge was closed to vehicle traffic to perform the repairs identified in 2017, while active transportation use was allowed to continue . The closure to vehicule traffic was expected to end in fall of 2024 but was extended to February, 2025. The bridge reopened to vehicle traffic on February 25, 2025. The bridge replacement project is still in the planning phase. Several designs have been submitted while environmental and cultural impact assessments are on-going. Demolition of the historic bridge and construction of a replacement is planned to begin in 2028. A final design was selected in January 2025 amongst three option presented to the public, although this option was the least preferred in public consultations.

Specifications

*Type: truss bridge with five spans *Length: 563.27 m (1,848 ft) *Width: 18.89 m (62 ft) *Height of tower posts: 28.95 m (95 ft) *Length of main cantilever span: 172.21 m (556 ft)

References

External links

* {{Gatineau Roads Canadian Pacific Railway bridges in Ontario Rail transport in Ottawa Railway bridges in Quebec Bridges completed in 1900 Bridges in Ottawa Bridges in Gatineau Cantilever bridges in Canada Bridges over the Ottawa River Road bridges in Ontario Road bridges in Quebec Steel bridges in Canada 1900 establishments in Ontario 1900 establishments in Quebec

History

Current use

Specifications

See also

References

External links