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Finlay Bridge opened on May 14, 1908 in
Medicine Hat, Alberta Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are within ...
. Spanning 274 meters (900 ft) across the
South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...
, the traffic and pedestrian bridge connects Medicine Hat's north side to the south side. Upon completion it was largest steel bridge in Western Canada and is officially listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places. It is named after William Thomas Finlay, a local politician who was the most vocal advocate for the bridge's construction. Prior to Finlay Bridge completion, Medicine Hat residents had to choose between either the
CP Rail The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , 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 Canadi ...
bridge or a ferry, operated by the
North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...
, to get from one side of the city to the other. Both were risky options and the ferry route was only open 6 months of the year due to winter freezing. During the devastating 2013 Southern Alberta floods Finlay Bridge was closed amid fears that flood waters could reach and damage the structure. Medicine Hat was almost "split in two" for the first time in over a hundred years as all major bridges connecting the north to the south were scheduled to be shut down due to the historic flooding of 2013.


See also

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List of crossings of the South Saskatchewan River This is a list of crossings of the South Saskatchewan River in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, from the river's confluence with the North Saskatchewan River at Saskatchewan River Forks, upstream to its origin at the confluence ...


References

Medicine Hat Road bridges in Alberta Steel bridges in Canada Truss bridges in Canada Bridges completed in 1908 {{Canada-bridge-struct-stub