The Granville Street Bridge or Granville Bridge is an eight-lane fixed

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is supported at only one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a canti ...

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 ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, carrying

Granville Street Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of British Columbia Highway 99, Highway 99. Granville Street is most often associated with the Granville Entertainment District and the Granville Mall, Vancouver ...

between

Downtown Vancouver Downtown Vancouver is the central business district and the city centre neighbourhood of Vancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of the Burrard Peninsula in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. It occupies most of the north sh ...

southwest and the Fairview neighborhood. It spans

False Creek False Creek (french: Faux ruisseau) is a short narrow inlet in the heart of Vancouver, separating the Downtown and West End neighbourhoods from the rest of the city. It is one of the four main bodies of water bordering Vancouver, along with ...

and is above

Granville Island Granville Island is a peninsula and shopping district in the Fairview, Vancouver, Fairview neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is located across False Creek from Downtown Vancouver under the south end of the Granville Street ...

. The bridge is part of Highway 99.

History

First bridge 1889

The original bridge was completed in 1889. It was a 732-metre long low timber

trestle ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laborato ...

. The navigation span, near the north end, was a trussed timber

swing span 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 pi ...

, tied with wire ropes to a central wooden tower. It was largely designed by the

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

, and cost $16,000. In 1891 the bridge was widened on both sides for

streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

tracks, except where the tracks converged for the swing span.

Second bridge 1909

The second bridge was completed in 1909. It was a longer, medium-level steel bridge with a

through truss 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 ...

swing span. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, on April 29, 1915, a fire broke out on the bridge that was thought to be an arson attack. Four Germans were arrested.

Third bridge 1954

On February 4, 1954, the current Granville Street Bridge, costing $16.5 million, opened. A million cars would cross over the bridge in its first month. The city of Vancouver funded the bridge itself as Mayor

Frederick Hume Frederick John "Fred" Hume (2 May 1892 – 17 February 1967) was the 28th mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1951 to 1958. He was born in New Westminster, British Columbia, where he served as mayor from 1933 to 1942. Although he was ...

said "no formal assistance given by any other government body." The eight-lane structure was constructed on the same alignment as the first bridge while steel plate girders salvaged from the second bridge made barges for constructing the foundations of the

Oak Street Bridge The Oak Street Bridge is a crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River, the Canada Line, and several roads, in Metro Vancouver. History Infrastructure During the planning stage, it was known as the New Marpole Bridge, and steel plate girder ...

. The first "civilian" to drive over the 1954 bridge was the same woman who was first to drive over the second bridge in 1909. She had been widowed between the two openings, and so had a different name. Both times she was at the wheel of a brand-new

Cadillac The Cadillac Motor Car Division () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM) that designs and builds luxury vehicles. Its major markets are the United States, Canada, and China. Cadillac models are distributed i ...

. Recent improvements to the bridge include increasing its earthquake resistance, and installing higher

curbs A curb (North American English), or kerb (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English except Canada; American and British English spelling differences, see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road m ...

and median barriers.

Today

In December 2017, Vancouver City Council approved a plan to remove the "Granville Loops" - a pair of cloverleaf off-ramps connecting the bridge with Pacific Street - and open up the land to redevelopment. Since late 2018, the Granville Street bridge has been undergoing seismic retrofitting which was completed in September 2021. In January 2019, Vancouver City Council announced a plan to improve pedestrian and cyclist access to the bridge from the surrounding neighbourhoods by creating a new separated bike and walking path located in the centre of the bridge roadway. The plan was opened up for public comment in April 2019 with the project approved which is anticipated to begin in September 2022 and completed in two years.

Gallery

File:Granville Street Bridge Vancouver circa 1888.jpg, Original bridge in 1888 File:Second Granville Street Bridge Vancouver under construction circa 1908.jpg, alt=, Second bridge under construction, c. 1908 File:False Creek and Granville Island - Vancouver.jpg, The Granville Street Bridge from the

Burrard Street Bridge The Burrard Street Bridge (sometimes referred to as the Burrard Bridge) is a four-lane, Art Deco style, steel truss bridge constructed in 1930–1932 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The high, five part bridge on four piers spans Fal ...

. File:Granville St Bridge, to city center.jpg, Southwest view along Bridge into city centre, Winter 2006 File:View of downtown Vancouver from the Granville Street Bridge.JPG, View of downtown. File:Granville-bridge.jpg, The modern Granville Street Bridge, with downtown and the North Shore mountains in the distance.

Resources

History of Metropolitan Vancouver

Bridges of Greater Vancouver
*

References

External links

* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5swSoTTI6HY 1954 film clip taken from a car driving over the bridge {{Vancouver landmarks Truss arch bridges Bridges in Greater Vancouver Bridges completed in 1889 Bridges completed in 1909 Bridges completed in 1954 Road bridges in British Columbia Buildings and structures in Vancouver