Mira Gut is a small community in the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province of

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

, located in the

Cape Breton Regional Municipality Cape Breton Regional Municipality (often referred to as simply "CBRM") is the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia's second largest municipality and the economic heart of Cape Breton Island. As of 2021 the municipa ...

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (, formerly '; or '; ) is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18.7% of Nova Scotia's total area. Although ...

where the Mira River enters into Mira Bay through the geographical feature Mira Gut, for which the community is named.

History

Mira Gut Beach is located on the former path of a coal mining railroad, the Sydney and Louisburg Railway (S&L), that used to run from Sydney to Louisbourg. Remains of the railroad can still be found along parts of the shore.

Mira Gut Beach

Mira Gut Beach features both fresh and saltwater

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

es and is a popular

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

area during the summer months. Recent improvements to the beach site include an expanded parking lot, a boardwalk, change houses, and a lifeguard hut. The Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service (NSLS) began supervision of Mira Gut Beach in 1996 under an agreement with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Mira Gut Road and Rail Road Bridges - ca 1900-1925

Mira Gut Road and Rail Road Bridges - ca 1900-1925

Mira Gut Bridge

In the early 1900s there were two bridges over Mira Gut, one for the S&L Railroad, and one for road traffic. Both bridges had swing spans to allow vessels to travel up the Mira River. When the S&L Railroad shutdown in the late 1970s road traffic was moved to the former railroad bridge. In November 2017, the Mira Gut Bridge was closed because the swing bridge no longer worked properly due to erosion of its foundations. At the time about 1,000 vehicles crossed the bridge daily. Its replacement, an hot-dip galvanized steel

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements, typically straight, may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

with a 6.5-metre vertical clearance to accommodate boats, officially opened on 5 August 2022. Bob Martell was the bridge custodian and operator of the swing span for more than 36 years. He had the honour of cutting the ribbon for the new bridge. The new bridge cost $6.525 million and features a sidewalk, which can be used by cyclists, walkers and runners.

References

Mira Gut on Destination Nova Scotia
Communities in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality Unincorporated communities in Nova Scotia {{CapeBretonNS-geo-stub