![Plaza Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/Plaza_Bridge.JPG)
The Plaza Bridge in
Ottawa,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, is an automotive and pedestrian
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
that crosses the
Rideau Canal just south of the Ottawa locks. It joins
Wellington Street and
Elgin Street in the
Downtown core to the west with
Rideau Street
Rideau Street (french: Rue Rideau) is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier ...
to the east. The
Chateau Laurier abuts the bridge at the east end, while
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their archit ...
is just beyond the west end. It is the northernmost bridge over the canal, just north of the
Mackenzie King Bridge
The Mackenzie King Bridge is a bridge over the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Just a few blocks away from Parliament Hill, south of the Plaza Bridge, it runs in a generally east–west direction, with the east end at the Rideau Centre ...
.
The bridge is constructed of three masonry spans. The western span is over a roadway along the western bank of the Canal. The central span is over the Canal. The eastern span is over a former railway tunnel running along the east bank of the Canal.
History
Sappers' Bridge
Sappers Bridge was one of Ottawa's first bridges (
Bytown
Bytown is the former name of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was founded on September 26, 1826, incorporated as a town on January 1, 1850, and superseded by the incorporation of the City of Ottawa on January 1, 1855. The founding was marked by a so ...
at the time), built in 1827 over the
Rideau Canal connecting
Rideau Street
Rideau Street (french: Rue Rideau) is a major street in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and one of Ottawa's oldest and most famous streets running from Wellington Street in the west to Montreal Road in the east where it connects to the Vanier ...
in
Lower Town
Lower Town (also spelled "Lowertown" (french: la Basse-Ville) is a neighbourhood in Rideau-Vanier Ward in central Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to the east of downtown. It is the oldest part of the city. It is bounded by Rideau Street to the south, ...
with Upper Town. The bridge got its name from the builders, the
Royal Sappers and Miners
The British Army during the Victorian era served through a period of great technological and social change. Queen Victoria ascended the throne in 1837, and died in 1901. Her long reign was marked by the steady expansion and consolidation of the Br ...
.
[.
] It was demolished in mid 1912. The current Plaza Bridge connecting Rideau Street with
Wellington Street near the
Rideau Centre
The Rideau Centre (french: Centre Rideau) (corporately styled as CF Rideau Centre) is a three-level shopping centre on Rideau Street in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It borders on Rideau Street, the ByWard Market, the Rideau Canal, the Mackenzie Ki ...
stands roughly in its location.
Construction
On September 26, Dalhousie presented
Colonel By
Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was des ...
, the overseer of the construction of the
Rideau Canal, with a letter authorizing him to divide the land into lots, and sod was turned.
[
] Construction of the canal's entrance took place in 1827, dividing Upper Town from Lower town.
Colonel By laid the cornerstone.
Construction proceeded in September 1827 and was finished in December.
[*
] The stone arch bridge was constructed by
15th Company of the Royal Sappers and Miners.
The eastern end connected directly to Rideau Street, and its western side joined with a wagon trail leading to Wellington and Bank Streets.
The land east of Bank Street had been acquired from Nicholas Sparks by the military, who returned it to him in late 1849, where he commenced its development. Thereafter, Sappers' Bridge became connected directly to Sparks Street.
![Ottawa Post Office Sappers Bridge Dufferin Bridge2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Ottawa_Post_Office_Sappers_Bridge_Dufferin_Bridge2.jpg)
The bridge was modified in the early 1870s with the construction of the Dufferin Bridge. Around the turn of the century, a hole was blasted in Sappers' Bridge to allow for rail traffic to pass. A railway station (predating Union Station) was built east of the Rideau Canal, immediately south of the bridge. With the completion of the
Alexandra Bridge
The Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge, also known as the Alexandra Bridge or Interprovincial Bridge, is a steel truss cantilever bridge spanning the Ottawa River between Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec. In addition to carrying vehicl ...
rail traffic passed from the station onto Hull.
Demolition
Between 1910 and 1912, the area saw extensive construction, principally the construction of the
Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
and the Chateau Laurier, as well as the need to move railway traffic along the canal's eastern side, under the bridge bypassing the west side of the Chateau Laurier and continuing on towards the
Royal Alexandra Interprovincial Bridge. The bridge itself was part of this new centralized railway station.
By late July 1912, the Sappers' Bridge was demolished to allow for the development of Connaught Place (now Confederation Square)
In 1915, two of its stones were placed on the site of
Colonel By
Lieutenant-Colonel John By (7 August 1779 – 1 February 1836) was an English military engineer. He is best known for having supervised the construction of the Rideau Canal and for having founded Bytown in the process. It developed and was des ...
's home in
Major's Hill Park
Major's Hill Park is a park in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. The park stands above the Rideau Canal at the point where it enters the Ottawa River. The parliament buildings can be seen across the canal to the west, to the north of the park is the Nat ...
.
Dufferin Bridge
The Dufferin Bridge was built in the early 1870s, forming a triangle with the existing Sappers Bridge. In 1912, both the Sappers Bridge and the Dufferin Bridge were demolished in favour of Connaught Place, today part of Confederation Square.
[
]
Plaza Bridge
The Plaza Bridge replaced two bridges across the Canal, the Sappers Bridge and the Dufferin Bridge. Construction on the new Plaza Bridge was finished by December 1912.
Several buildings, including the
Russell Hotel and Ottawa's first City Hall, existed in the place of today's
National War Memorial. In the 1930s, the memorial was erected and Elgin Street was rerouted around the Cenotaph, southbound traffic along the west side of the square and the northbound section along the path of the southern bridge. The bridge was also widened at that time.
In the 1990s, the bridge structure was renovated, adding an extra access to the canal via a staircase in the area between the original two bridges.
The Sapper's Bridge memorial was erected by the Canadian Military Engineer Centennial 1903-2003 Committee and the
National Capital Commission
The National Capital Commission (NCC; french: Commission de la capitale nationale, CCN) is the Crown corporation responsible for development, urban planning, and conservation in Canada's Capital Region (Ottawa, Ontario and Gatineau, Quebec), i ...
. The plaques, which were unveiled on April 29, 2004, are dedicated in honour of a century of contributing service by Canadian Military engineers.
See also
*
List of bridges in Ottawa
This is a list of bridges in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. They are listed from west to east and north to south. Bridges spanning Airport Parkway, the Confederation Line, Green's Creek, Highway 174, Highway 416, Highway 417, the Jock River, the ...
*
Military engineering
References
{{Coord, 45.424932, N, 75.695457, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title
Bridges completed in 1912
Bridges in Ottawa
Deck arch bridges in Canada
Road bridges in Ontario
1912 establishments in Ontario