The Canso Canal Bridge is a rotating

swing bridge 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 ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. It crosses the

Canso Canal The Canso Canal is a short canal located in Nova Scotia, Canada. Canal location The Canso Canal is in the Strait of Canso, on the eastern side of the Canso Causeway, a rock-fill causeway which opened in 1955 to carry a 2-lane highway and a si ...

at the eastern end of the

Canso Causeway The Canso Causeway (''Cabhsair Chanso'' in Gaelic) is a rock-fill causeway crossing the Strait of Canso, connecting Cape Breton Island by road to the Nova Scotia peninsula. Its crest thickness is , carrying the two vehicle traffic lanes o ...

, connecting the Nova Scotia peninsula to Cape Breton Island. The bridge carries the 2 traffic lanes of Nova Scotia Highway 104, Highway 104 (the Trans-Canada Highway) as well as a single track railway line operated by the Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway (CBNS). The bridge is owned and maintained by the railway company, although maintenance costs are shared by the Government of Nova Scotia's Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal.

Dimensions

The bridge is a long

of a truss design which carries the Trans-Canada Highway road and railway line across the canal immediately south of the southern end of the canal's single lock.

History

The bridge carried its first traffic (a train) on April 18, 1955 when the Canso Causeway construction was completed. Its official opening was on August 13 of that year. From 1955-1993 the bridge was owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CN). Ownership was transferred to the CBNS after that company purchased the Truro, Nova Scotia, Truro-Sydney, Nova Scotia, Sydney railway line in 1993. The railway employs a bridge operator who is required by federal law to rotate the structure to accommodate vessel passage. {{coord, 45, 38, 50.61, N, 61, 24, 45.08, W, display=title

References

History of the Canso Canal
Road bridges in Nova Scotia Road-rail bridges Swing bridges in Canada Transport in Inverness County, Nova Scotia Buildings and structures in Inverness County, Nova Scotia Bridges completed in 1955 Bridges on the Trans-Canada Highway Railway bridges in Nova Scotia 1955 establishments in Nova Scotia