The Gunningsville Bridge has been a name given to five different bridges that crossed the

Petitcodiac River The Petitcodiac River is a river in south-eastern New Brunswick, Canada. Referred to as the "chocolate river" by local tourist businesses, it is characterized by its brown mud floor and brown waters. The river has a meander length of and is lo ...

between

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

at Route 106 and

Riverview, New Brunswick Riverview is a town in Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada. Riverview is located on the south side of the Petitcodiac River, across from the larger cities of Moncton and Dieppe. Riverview has an area of , and a population density of . Rivervie ...

at Route 114,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) 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. It is the only province with both English and ...

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 ...

. The latest Gunningsville Bridge opened on November 19, 2005. This is one of two links that cross the

from

to Riverview; the other is the Petitcodiac River Causeway. The Route links Vaughan Harvey Blvd In Moncton with Gunningsville Blvd In Riverview.

History

*The First bridge - Construction began in 1864 and was completed in 1867. The bridge was severely damaged by the

Saxby Gale The Saxby Gale was a tropical cyclone which struck eastern Canada's Bay of Fundy region on the night of October 4–5, 1869. The storm was named for Lieutenant Stephen Martin Saxby, a naval instructor who, based on his astronomical studies, ha ...

in 1869. *The Second bridge - opened in 1873 and was under repair when a storm destroyed three of its spans in 1891. *The Third bridge - replaced the second, and closed in 1915. *The Fourth Bridge - (Locally known as the "Old Bridge"), was completed on January 27, 1917. This bridge had a long history of accidents. In a 1929 freak accident, a river

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...

named the ''Mayflower'' lost control due to the strong

tidal bore Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

on the river, and it crashed into the bridge. Its cargo of lumber was lost and two men drowned. In recent years, trucks, trailers and buses were banned from using the bridge as it had been built during the latter days of the

horse and buggy ] A horse and buggy (in American English) or horse and carriage (in British English and American English) refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two ho ...

era and was unable to accommodate larger vehicles. It was a regular occurrence for vehicles to lose their side mirrors against the bridge pillars. Codiac Transit, Buses were accommodated by having an attendant stop traffic for a few minutes in one direction to allow them to cross. The "Old Bridge" was demolished shortly after the Fifth Bridge opened. *Fifth Bridge - Area residents demanded a new, wider bridge, and construction finally began in 2002 when structural evaluations indicated that repairing the structure would be too costly. The new four-lane Gunningsville Bridge, opened in 2005, has dramatically improved access between Riverview and downtown

References

Paper
about aesthetic and design elements used in the new bridge. Road bridges in New Brunswick Transport in Albert County, New Brunswick Transport in Westmorland County, New Brunswick Bridges completed in 1917 Bridges completed in 2005 Transport in Moncton Transport in Riverview, New Brunswick Transport in Greater Moncton Buildings and structures in Moncton Buildings and structures in Albert County, New Brunswick {{NewBrunswick-bridge-struct-stub

History

See also

References