Construction
The Canso Causeway was built at a narrow location on the Strait of Canso, several miles northwest of Port Hawkesbury and Mulgrave, crossing from Cape Porcupine near Auld's Cove on the Nova Scotia side to Port Hastings on the Cape Breton side. Approximately 10,092,000 t (9,933,000 long tons) of rock for building the causeway was quarried from a mountain on Cape Porcupine.
Contracts were awarded, beginning in May 1952 to build approach roads and rail lines for the causeway construction and the project was officially started at a ceremony on September 16, 1952 attended by Minister of Transport Lionel Chevrier and Premier of Nova Scotia Angus L. MacDonald.
The Strait of Canso was permanently blocked on Friday, December 10, 1954; construction continued through the winter on building the roadway and railway line, as well as finishing the Canso Canal and its swing bridge. Construction was finally completed on April 13, 1955 when the railway line and roadway were finished at a cost of $22 million (CAD).
The first train across the causeway was a Canadian National Railways work train, led by steam locomotive #2639 on April 18, 1955. The railway line across the causeway entered active service on Saturday, May 14, 1955 when the first revenue train was a 10 car passenger train led by steam locomotive #6014, after which the rail ferry service from Mulgrave to Point Tupper was discontinued. The roadway across the causeway opened to vehicle traffic on May 20, 1955 after which the vehicle ferry service was discontinued.
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