Opened in 1931, the Canadian National Railway (CNR) steel truss swing span railway bridge over the north arm of the Fraser River in

Metro Vancouver The Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), or simply Metro Vancouver, is a Canadian political subdivision and corporate entity representing the metropolitan area of Greater Vancouver, designated by provincial legislation as one of the 28 ...

links

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

with Richmond and the south arm

Vancouver Fraser Port Authority The Port of Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America by tonnes of cargo, facilitating trade between Canada and more than 170 world economies. The port is managed by the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, whic ...

facilities on

Lulu Island Lulu Island is the name of the largest island in the estuary of the Fraser River, located south of Vancouver, British Columbia, and the second-most populous island in British Columbia, after Vancouver Island. The city of Richmond occupies mos ...

. The

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Man ...

(CNoR) had planned to lay track from the north end of the

New Westminster Bridge The New Westminster Bridge (also known as the New Westminster Rail Bridge (NSRW) or the Fraser River Swing Bridge) is a swing bridge that crosses the Fraser River and connects New Westminster with Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. The bridge i ...

and cross the Fraser at the 1931 location. However, when the CNoR opened the Lulu Island branch line in 1917, it connected with the British Columbia Electric Railway (BCER) Queensborough terminus. Since the original BCER Queensborough bridge was designed for

tram 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 ...

s, not heavy locomotives, the CNoR westward route to Steveston was an isolated branch line. After the CNR absorption of the bankrupt CNoR, the money-losing branch, and damage to trestles from a 1918 muskeg fire at Mile 4, terminated all services. In July 1930, work began on sinking piers for the 4,200-foot-long bridge with a 240-foot central span. On completion in November 1931, work trains carried the steel rails across the bridge to lay of track for the Lulu Island industrial branch line. This comprised two north–south lines from west of the new bridge to connect with the remnants of the original east–west line at the south arm, with a scheduled completion date for the $2m project before yearend. Owing to the proximity of several bridges on the Fraser, the unique signal for the opening of the Lulu Island Bridge was four long blasts on the vessel's horn. In 2013, CN removed the observer-operators from three movable span bridges in the Lower Mainland comprising the Second Narrows,

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capi ...

and Lulu Island bridges, and now monitors river traffic by camera from a central location.

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place = Fraser River , bridge = CNR Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream =

Queensborough Bridge Queensborough Bridge is a highway bridge in New Westminster, British Columbia. It was built in 1960 by John Laing and Son (Canada) for the City of New Westminster and cost $4 million (equivalent to $37.5 million in 2022). The bridge spans the ...

, upstream signs = , downstream = Knight Street Bridge , downstream signs = Canadian National Railway bridges in Canada Railway bridges in British Columbia Swing bridges in Canada Bridges completed in 1920 Bridges in Greater Vancouver Buildings and structures in Burnaby Buildings and structures in Richmond, British Columbia Bridges over the Fraser River Steel bridges in Canada

See also

References