Saint John Harbour Bridge 2.39

The Saint John Harbour Bridge is three-span crossing of Saint John Harbour at the mouth of the Saint John River in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It opened in 1968.HistoryBy the mid-20th century, the rate of industrial and residential growth in Saint John and surrounding communities necessitated a second bridge over the Saint John River. The old Reversing Falls Bridge was adequate for handling the post-War traffic growth; however public concerns about where to build a new highway and bridge frustrated the idea for many years. On May 1, 1961 the city's Common Council appointed a 6-member citizens' committee which then directed various studies and discussions.Ultimately, the bridge was built as a cooperative project between the federal, provincial and municipal governments. They decided to purchase the majority of the Mill Street Yard from the Canadian Pacific Railway for a new highway alignment which would run through the middle of the city downstream of Reversing Falls. The federally controlled National Harbours Board (now Ports Canada) would build the bridge. Part of this deal involved the NHB collecting a 25¢ toll in each direction. Under the original act prevented any toll increase or forty years without federal, provincial and municipal agreement..The selected location remains controversial as it prevents high-clearance vessels from navigating into the upper part of Saint John Harbour. Construction of the bridge also drew to a close the status of Navy Island as an island within the Inner Harbour and resulted in the demolition of the historic neo-gothic Union Station. Earlier proposals had called for the Saint John Throughway and the bridge to be built north of the Reversing Falls gorge.