Recent from talks
Traffic Bridge
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Traffic Bridge
The Traffic Bridge is the name given to two truss bridges constructed across the South Saskatchewan River, connecting Victoria Avenue to 3rd Avenue South and Spadina Crescent in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The original bridge opened on October 10, 1907, and was the first bridge to carry motor vehicle traffic in Saskatoon, replacing an unreliable ferry service. The promised construction of the bridge was considered a prime factor in the amalgamation of the towns of Saskatoon, Nutana and Riversdale into one city named Saskatoon. The Traffic Bridge was the only road bridge in Saskatoon until 1916, when the University Bridge was completed. In 2010, the bridge was permanently closed due to severe corrosion and was demolished by 2016.
A new truss bridge, a near-replica of the original except with fewer steel spans and a wider road bed, was constructed on the same site after the original bridge was closed. It opened on October 3, 2018.
The bridge is known both popularly and in official correspondence as the Traffic Bridge, originally distinguishing it from the QLLS/CN railway bridge just upstream and later becoming a proper noun in its own right (the railway bridge was built in 1890 and demolished in 1965 when the rail line and downtown yards were removed; the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge now crosses the river at its former location). Although it is Saskatoon's oldest bridge, it was never formally named until it was nearly a century old. On January 22, 2007, Saskatoon City Council voted to officially name it the "Traffic Bridge", on the recommendation of the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee, as a way to acknowledge its historic character and the vital role it played in the city's early history. This name was retained for the replacement bridge that opened in October 2018.
The original bridge was referred to by various other names since its construction (see infobox). The most popular name is Victoria Bridge, given that Victoria Avenue runs right up to the bridge's south end. It has been called the 19th Street Bridge, although 19th Street actually passes two blocks north of the bridge and connects with the northwest end of Broadway Bridge (this name made more sense prior to the construction of Broadway Bridge, when the streetcar line came down 19th street before turning onto the bridge) and the 3rd Avenue Bridge, as that is its continuation on the north end of the bridge. Due to its colour, it was also called the Black Bridge, although a later paint scheme was a rather dark grey. It was also sometimes called the Iron Bridge and even the Short Hill Bridge after the Short Hill, down which Victoria Avenue comes (as opposed to "Long Hill" which was a longer route down the same hill originally used by street cars.
The Traffic Bridge came into being when residents of Nutana agreed to merge with the town of Saskatoon and the village of Riversdale to form a city. As a condition of their joining with the other two communities, they demanded that a bridge be built for foot and vehicular traffic. Up to then, the only way to cross the river was on an unreliable ferry, or a difficult and sometimes dangerous walk across the QLLS railway bridge. The province provided funding and John Gunn and Sons was selected as the contractor. On October 10, 1907, the Traffic Bridge officially opened.
Less than a year after it opened, on June 7, 1908, the bridge became the site of Saskatoon's only shipping disaster, when a steamboat called the SS City of Medicine Hat crashed into one of the bridge's piers and sank; all aboard managed to make it to safety. This accident marked the end of steamboat traffic on the river. An anchor presumed to be the SS City of Medicine Hat's was located in August 2006 by divers training just downstream, near the Broadway Bridge. This discovery led to a full-scale, five-day underwater excavation, which was conducted from September 8 to 12, 2008. A number of artifacts were uncovered from the water. A documentary film, titled "The Last Steamship: The Search for the SS City of Medicine Hat" was created in 2010 about the wreck and the search. More artifacts were unearthed in 2012 underneath Rotary Park, where the river used to run until it was covered by landfill to create the park in the 1960s.
Two roadways cut out of the riverbank are often associated with the Traffic Bridge. Short Hill referred to the steep rise up the east bank from the foot of the bridge along Victoria Avenue. The grade was too steep for most wagon teams, as well as the streetcars that began operation in 1913. Long Hill referred to the more gradual slope up the east riverbank from the foot of the bridge to the end of 12th Street, around where the end of the Broadway Bridge is today. This road followed the old ferry road up the bank along what is now Saskatchewan Crescent. Even the Long Hill was difficult for streetcars; in March 1922, a streetcar derailed when it slid off ice-covered tracks while attempting to turn onto the bridge.
The 2 metre-wide pedestrian walkway was added on the upstream side of the bridge in 1908. In 1961, the southern end of the bridge was raised to reduce the slope on the Short Hill and to improve traffic flow, allowing Saskatchewan Crescent to pass underneath the bridge. The bridge carried approximately 10,000 vehicles per day.
Hub AI
Traffic Bridge AI simulator
(@Traffic Bridge_simulator)
Traffic Bridge
The Traffic Bridge is the name given to two truss bridges constructed across the South Saskatchewan River, connecting Victoria Avenue to 3rd Avenue South and Spadina Crescent in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The original bridge opened on October 10, 1907, and was the first bridge to carry motor vehicle traffic in Saskatoon, replacing an unreliable ferry service. The promised construction of the bridge was considered a prime factor in the amalgamation of the towns of Saskatoon, Nutana and Riversdale into one city named Saskatoon. The Traffic Bridge was the only road bridge in Saskatoon until 1916, when the University Bridge was completed. In 2010, the bridge was permanently closed due to severe corrosion and was demolished by 2016.
A new truss bridge, a near-replica of the original except with fewer steel spans and a wider road bed, was constructed on the same site after the original bridge was closed. It opened on October 3, 2018.
The bridge is known both popularly and in official correspondence as the Traffic Bridge, originally distinguishing it from the QLLS/CN railway bridge just upstream and later becoming a proper noun in its own right (the railway bridge was built in 1890 and demolished in 1965 when the rail line and downtown yards were removed; the Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge now crosses the river at its former location). Although it is Saskatoon's oldest bridge, it was never formally named until it was nearly a century old. On January 22, 2007, Saskatoon City Council voted to officially name it the "Traffic Bridge", on the recommendation of the Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee, as a way to acknowledge its historic character and the vital role it played in the city's early history. This name was retained for the replacement bridge that opened in October 2018.
The original bridge was referred to by various other names since its construction (see infobox). The most popular name is Victoria Bridge, given that Victoria Avenue runs right up to the bridge's south end. It has been called the 19th Street Bridge, although 19th Street actually passes two blocks north of the bridge and connects with the northwest end of Broadway Bridge (this name made more sense prior to the construction of Broadway Bridge, when the streetcar line came down 19th street before turning onto the bridge) and the 3rd Avenue Bridge, as that is its continuation on the north end of the bridge. Due to its colour, it was also called the Black Bridge, although a later paint scheme was a rather dark grey. It was also sometimes called the Iron Bridge and even the Short Hill Bridge after the Short Hill, down which Victoria Avenue comes (as opposed to "Long Hill" which was a longer route down the same hill originally used by street cars.
The Traffic Bridge came into being when residents of Nutana agreed to merge with the town of Saskatoon and the village of Riversdale to form a city. As a condition of their joining with the other two communities, they demanded that a bridge be built for foot and vehicular traffic. Up to then, the only way to cross the river was on an unreliable ferry, or a difficult and sometimes dangerous walk across the QLLS railway bridge. The province provided funding and John Gunn and Sons was selected as the contractor. On October 10, 1907, the Traffic Bridge officially opened.
Less than a year after it opened, on June 7, 1908, the bridge became the site of Saskatoon's only shipping disaster, when a steamboat called the SS City of Medicine Hat crashed into one of the bridge's piers and sank; all aboard managed to make it to safety. This accident marked the end of steamboat traffic on the river. An anchor presumed to be the SS City of Medicine Hat's was located in August 2006 by divers training just downstream, near the Broadway Bridge. This discovery led to a full-scale, five-day underwater excavation, which was conducted from September 8 to 12, 2008. A number of artifacts were uncovered from the water. A documentary film, titled "The Last Steamship: The Search for the SS City of Medicine Hat" was created in 2010 about the wreck and the search. More artifacts were unearthed in 2012 underneath Rotary Park, where the river used to run until it was covered by landfill to create the park in the 1960s.
Two roadways cut out of the riverbank are often associated with the Traffic Bridge. Short Hill referred to the steep rise up the east bank from the foot of the bridge along Victoria Avenue. The grade was too steep for most wagon teams, as well as the streetcars that began operation in 1913. Long Hill referred to the more gradual slope up the east riverbank from the foot of the bridge to the end of 12th Street, around where the end of the Broadway Bridge is today. This road followed the old ferry road up the bank along what is now Saskatchewan Crescent. Even the Long Hill was difficult for streetcars; in March 1922, a streetcar derailed when it slid off ice-covered tracks while attempting to turn onto the bridge.
The 2 metre-wide pedestrian walkway was added on the upstream side of the bridge in 1908. In 1961, the southern end of the bridge was raised to reduce the slope on the Short Hill and to improve traffic flow, allowing Saskatchewan Crescent to pass underneath the bridge. The bridge carried approximately 10,000 vehicles per day.
Recent media