Construction
Discussions began as early as 1874 about the construction of a new bridge to alleviate the congestion on Victoria Bridge, which was then a rail-only bridge, the wintertime ice bridge and the ferries used to connect the city to its south shore. The decision to build the bridge was made official in 1924. Construction was undertaken by the Dominion Bridge Company starting in 1925 and completed in 1930. It was opened to traffic on May 14 of that year.
The bridge follows the general design concept of the Quebec Bridge. It was, in turn, one of the design influences for the Story Bridge, in Brisbane, Australia, which was completed in 1940.
The bridge was originally designed as a road, tramway, and pedestrian bridge. Tramway tracks were installed but never used. A parallel empty space used to be to the right of the roadway in each direction, through which the bridge's girders could be seen. The roadway was expanded in 1956 and 1959 to include the space allocated to the tramway tracks, adding an extra lane of traffic in each direction. The two sidewalks were outside the bridge proper.
To accommodate large ships using the new St. Lawrence Seaway, the span over the east channel of the river (the Warren truss) was raised an additional 80 feet (to 120 feet) in 1957 and 1958. Traffic flow over the bridge was uninterrupted by this construction, through the installation of two Bailey bridges.
The structure was a toll bridge from its opening until 1962 and a toll plaza was located on the southern approach. The toll plaza area now houses the offices of the corporation that owns and operates the structure and the nearby Champlain Bridge. Tokens were issued for part of the period that tolls were collected.
During 2001 and 2002 the entire deck of the bridge was replaced. The sidewalks were also widened to a width of 8-foot (2.4 m), and the sidewalk on the western side of the bridge was made a bike path.
In 2004, a suicide prevention barrier was installed. Until then the bridge saw an average of 10 suicides a year.
There are four 3-metre high finials, at the four high-points of the bridge, as architectural ornaments. Their shape resembles the Eiffel Tower without being a replica.
Read more about this topic: Jacques Cartier Bridge
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