Alexandra Bridge
Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located in the Fraser Canyon approximately two kilometres (one mile) north of Spuzzum and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Hope.
During the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, a ferry service was established here.
The original Alexandra Bridge of the Cariboo Road, was built in 1863.
The original bridge was destroyed by the rising waters of the Fraser Flood of 1894.
After World War I the dawn of the automotive era saw a reinvestment in roads in the province, including the re-opening of the Fraser Canyon to road traffic in the form of the new Cariboo Highway in the 1920s, and a new suspension bridge was built upon the footings of the original in 1926 (with a deck level ten feet higher than the previous design).
I remember travelling over this bridge in the family car in 1957 when this was still part of the highway.
It ceased to be used for automobile traffic in 1964. The new Alexandra Bridge, constructed by the B.C. Ministry of Highways in 1960-64, is approximately two kilometres (one mile) downstream and uses a high truss-arch span to cross the canyon.
Whenever I pass this way, if I have time, I stop and take the trail down to the old bridge. The bridge deck is one of those steel grates that you can see through to the river below - it makes some people nervous! ☺
The Fraser River is always fascinating to me. In salmon spawning season you can observe the salmon working their way up stream on their way to the spawning grounds.
Right now the river is in Spring run-off.
It's a high as I have ever seen it.
Alexandra Bridge
Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park is a provincial park in British Columbia, Canada, located in the Fraser Canyon approximately two kilometres (one mile) north of Spuzzum and 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of Hope.
During the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, a ferry service was established here.
The original Alexandra Bridge of the Cariboo Road, was built in 1863.
The original bridge was destroyed by the rising waters of the Fraser Flood of 1894.
After World War I the dawn of the automotive era saw a reinvestment in roads in the province, including the re-opening of the Fraser Canyon to road traffic in the form of the new Cariboo Highway in the 1920s, and a new suspension bridge was built upon the footings of the original in 1926 (with a deck level ten feet higher than the previous design).
I remember travelling over this bridge in the family car in 1957 when this was still part of the highway.
It ceased to be used for automobile traffic in 1964. The new Alexandra Bridge, constructed by the B.C. Ministry of Highways in 1960-64, is approximately two kilometres (one mile) downstream and uses a high truss-arch span to cross the canyon.
Whenever I pass this way, if I have time, I stop and take the trail down to the old bridge. The bridge deck is one of those steel grates that you can see through to the river below - it makes some people nervous! ☺
The Fraser River is always fascinating to me. In salmon spawning season you can observe the salmon working their way up stream on their way to the spawning grounds.
Right now the river is in Spring run-off.
It's a high as I have ever seen it.