The Canso Canal Bridge is a rotating

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then p ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

, Canada. It crosses the

Canso Canal The Canso Canal is a short canal located in Nova Scotia, Canada. Canal location The Canso Canal is in the Strait of Canso, on the eastern side of the Canso Causeway, a rock-fill causeway which opened in 1955 to carry a 2-lane highway and a sing ...

at the eastern end of the

Canso Causeway The Canso Causeway (''Cabhsair Chanso'' in Gaelic) is a rock-fill causeway crossing the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula. Its crest thickness is , carrying the two vehicle traffic lanes of ...

, connecting the

Nova Scotia peninsula The Nova Scotia peninsula is a peninsula on the Atlantic coast of North America. Location The Nova Scotia peninsula is part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada and is connected to the neighbouring province of New Brunswick through the Ist ...

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

. The bridge carries the 2 traffic lanes of

Highway 104 Route 104, or Highway 104, may refer to: Brazil * BR-104 Canada * New Brunswick Route 104 * Nova Scotia Highway 104 (Trans-Canada Highway) * Prince Edward Island Route 104 * Quebec Route 104 China * China National Highway 104 Costa Rica * ...

(the

Trans-Canada Highway The Trans-Canada Highway (French: ; abbreviated as the TCH or T-Can) is a transcontinental federal–provincial highway system that travels through all ten provinces of Canada, from the Pacific Ocean on the west coast to the Atlantic Ocean on ...

) as well as a single track railway line operated by the

Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a short line railway that operated in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. CBNS operated () of main line and associated spurs between Truro in the central part of the province to Point Tupper ...

(CBNS). The bridge is owned and maintained by the railway company, although maintenance costs are shared by the

Government of Nova Scotia The Government of Nova Scotia (french: Gouvernement de la Nouvelle-Écosse, gd, Riaghaltas Alba Nuadh) refers to the provincial government of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is one of Canada's four Atlantic Provinces, and the sec ...

's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

Dimensions

The bridge is a long

of a truss design which carries the

road and railway line across the canal immediately south of the southern end of the canal's single lock.

History

The bridge carried its first traffic (a train) on April 18, 1955 when the Canso Causeway construction was completed. Its official opening was on August 13 of that year. From 1955-1993 the bridge was owned and operated by the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

(CN). Ownership was transferred to the CBNS after that company purchased the

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its population was 18,766 in the 2011 census. People of Truro c ...

- Sydney railway line in 1993. The railway employs a bridge operator who is required by federal law to rotate the structure to accommodate vessel passage. {{coord, 45, 38, 50.61, N, 61, 24, 45.08, W, display=title

References

History of the Canso Canal
Road bridges in Nova Scotia Road-rail bridges Swing bridges in Canada Transport in Inverness County, Nova Scotia Buildings and structures in Inverness County, Nova Scotia Bridges completed in 1955 Bridges on the Trans-Canada Highway Railway bridges in Nova Scotia 1955 establishments in Nova Scotia