Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing

Last updated

Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Bridge
Ironworkers Memorial Bridge Vancouver BC.jpg
Coordinates 49°17′43″N123°01′35″W / 49.295296°N 123.026276°W / 49.295296; -123.026276
CarriesSix lanes of British Columbia Highway 1, pedestrians and bicycles
Crosses Burrard Inlet
Locale Vancouver
District of North Vancouver
Official nameIronworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing
OwnerBritish Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure
Characteristics
Design Truss/cantilever bridge
MaterialSteel
Total length1,292 metres (4,239 ft) [1]
Longest span335 metres (1,099 ft) [1]
History
DesignerSwan, Wooster and Partners
Constructed by Peter Kiewet and Sons, Raymond International, [2] and Dominion Bridge Company [3]
Construction start1957
OpenedAugust 25, 1960
Statistics
Daily traffic 121,778 (2021) [4]
Location
Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing

The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, also called the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge and Second Narrows Bridge, is the second bridge constructed at the Second (east) Narrows of Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Originally named the Second Narrows Bridge, it connects Vancouver to the North Shore of Burrard Inlet, which includes the District of North Vancouver, the City of North Vancouver, and West Vancouver. It was constructed adjacent to the older Second Narrows Bridge, which is now exclusively a rail bridge. Its construction, from 1956 to 1960, was marred by a multi-death collapse on June 17, 1958. The First Narrows Bridge, better known as Lions Gate Bridge, crosses Burrard Inlet about 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of the Second Narrows.

Contents

The bridge is a steel truss cantilever bridge, designed by Swan Wooster Engineering Co. Ltd. Construction began in November 1957, and the bridge was officially opened on August 25, 1960. It cost approximately $23 million to build. [5] Tolls were charged until April 1, 1963. [6]

The bridge is 1,292 metres (4,239 ft) long with a centre span of 335 metres (1,099 ft). It is part of the Trans-Canada Highway (Highway 1).

Collapse

2nd-narrows-bridge-2.jpg
Under construction in June 1958, prior to collapse
Second Narrows Bridge (Vancouver).jpg
Collapsed spans in August 1958

On June 17, 1958, as a crane stretched from the north side of the new bridge to join the two chords of the unfinished arch, several spans collapsed. Seventy-nine workers plunged 30 metres (98 ft) into the water. Eighteen were killed either instantly or shortly thereafter, possibly drowned by their heavy tool belts. A diver searching for bodies drowned later, bringing the total fatalities for the collapse to nineteen. In a subsequent Royal Commission inquiry, the bridge collapse was attributed to miscalculation by bridge engineers. A temporary arm, holding the fifth anchor span, was deemed too light to bear the weight. [7]

In December 1957, a safety inspector from the British Columbia Workmen's Compensation Board had reported that the installation of a safety net under the work platforms was "impracticable" following the death of another steelworker. [8]

Renaming

The bridge was renamed the "Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing" on June 17, 1994, to honour the eighteen workers who died in the collapse, along with one rescue diver and four other workers who also died during the construction process. [9] [10]

Bibliography

Notes

See also

Related Research Articles

Highway 1 is a provincial highway in British Columbia, Canada, that carries the main route of the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH). The highway is 1,047 kilometres (651 mi) long and connects Vancouver Island, the Greater Vancouver region in the Lower Mainland, and the Interior. It is the westernmost portion of the main TCH to be numbered "Highway 1", which continues through Western Canada and extends to the Manitoba–Ontario boundary. The section of Highway 1 in the Lower Mainland is the second-busiest freeway in Canada, after Ontario Highway 401 in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Narrows Rail Bridge</span> Vertical-lift railway bridge in Metro Vancouver, Canada

The Second Narrows Rail Bridge is a vertical-lift railway bridge that crosses the Burrard Inlet and connects Vancouver with the North Shore. The bridge's south end connects directly to the Thornton Tunnel, which connects it to the main Canadian rail network. As the name suggests, it is located at the second narrowing of the Burrard Inlet.

Highway 7, known for most of its length as the Lougheed Highway and Broadway, is an alternative route to Highway 1 through the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. Whereas the controlled-access Highway 1 follows the southern bank of the Fraser River, Highway 7 follows the northern bank.

Highway 7A, known locally and on street signs as the Barnet Highway, Barnet Road,St. Johns Street, Inlet Drive and Hastings Street, was Highway 7's original 1941 route between the harbour in Vancouver and Port Moody. The highway gained the 7A designation around 1953 due to Highway 7 being re-designated along Lougheed Highway through Maillardville and Central Burnaby and was disestablished on April 1, 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Columbia Highway 13</span>

Highway 13 is an 11.5 km (7.1 mi) long two-lane route through the eastern part of Langley, British Columbia. Highway 13 connects Washington state to the central Fraser Valley.

Highway 11, known locally as the Abbotsford–Mission Highway, is a 17 km (11 mi) long at-grade expressway that figuratively cuts the Fraser Valley in half. The highway was first given the '11' designation in 1958, and it originally followed South Fraser Way through Abbotsford, being re-routed onto the four-lane Sumas Way in the mid-1980s. Highway 11 originally entered Mission over the same bridge that carries a spur of the Canadian Pacific Railway across the Fraser River, but it was re-routed onto its own bridge, the Mission Bridge, in 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart–Cassiar Highway</span> Highway in British Columbia

The Stewart–Cassiar Highway, also known as the Dease Lake Highway and the Stikine Highway as well as the Thornhill –Kitimat Highway from Kitimat to Thornhill, is the northwesternmost highway in the Canadian province of British Columbia. A scenic route through some of the province's most isolated areas, the highway first gained designation as British Columbia Highway 37 in the year 1975. At that time, its southern terminus was at the community of New Hazelton on the BC Highway 16. In 1975, with the completion of a new bridge over the Kitimat River, the highway's Yellowhead junction was relocated to a point on Highway 16 just south of the site of Kitwanga. Highway 37 was then extended south to Kitimat in 1986 superseding what was then designated Highway 25. At the north end, the highway briefly stretches into the Yukon, becoming Yukon Highway 37.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Vancouver (city)</span> City in British Columbia, Canada

The City of North Vancouver is a city on the north shore of Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, Canada. It is a suburb of Vancouver. It is the smallest in area and the most urbanized of the North Shore municipalities, although it has significant industry of its own – including shipping, chemical production, and film production. The city is served by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, British Columbia Ambulance Service, and the North Vancouver City Fire Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burrard Inlet</span> Coastal fjord in southwestern British Columbia, Canada

Burrard Inlet is a shallow-sided fjord in the northwestern Lower Mainland, British Columbia, Canada. Formed during the last Ice Age, it separates the City of Vancouver and the rest of the lowland Burrard Peninsula to the south from the coastal slopes of the North Shore Mountains, which span West Vancouver and the City and District of North Vancouver to the north.

The North Shore of Burrard Inlet is a term commonly used to refer to several areas adjacent to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Vancouver (district municipality)</span> Municipality in British Columbia, Canada

The District of North Vancouver is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada, and is part of Metro Vancouver. It surrounds the City of North Vancouver on three sides. It is largely characterized as a relatively quiet, affluent suburban hub home to many middle and upper-middle-class families. Homes in the District of North Vancouver generally range from mid-sized family bungalows to very large luxury houses. A number of dense multi-family and mixed-use developments have popped up across the district in recent years; however, the district remains a primarily suburban municipality. It is served by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, British Columbia Ambulance Service, and the District of North Vancouver Fire Department.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Mann Bridge</span> Bridge over the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia; opened in 2012

The Port Mann Bridge is a 10-lane cable-stayed bridge, 90 km/h speed limit, in British Columbia, Canada, that opened to traffic in 2012. It carries 10 lanes of traffic with space reserved for a light rail line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pitt River Bridge</span> Bridge in Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows

The Pitt River Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the Pitt River between Port Coquitlam and Pitt Meadows in British Columbia, Canada. The bridge is part of Highway 7, carrying Lougheed Highway across the river. The current bridge opened on October 4, 2009. The bridge includes a 380 m cable stay bridge structure, 126 m of multi-span approaches, a 50 m interchange structure and approximately 2 km of grade construction. Total project cost for the bridge was $200 million

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassiar Tunnel</span> Highway traffic tunnel on the Trans-Canada Highway in Vancouver, British Columbia

The Cassiar Connector is a highway traffic tunnel on the Trans-Canada Highway. It is located in the north-east corner of Vancouver, British Columbia, near the Vancouver-Burnaby border. Travelling northward, the tunnel begins under Adanac Street and passes under the interchange between East Hastings Street and the Highway 1 offramps. It ends underneath Triumph Street, with the highway continuing north to the McGill Street interchange and the Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing towards the District of North Vancouver. The tunnel is 730 metres (2,400 ft) long. Dangerous goods are not permitted to be transported through the tunnel.

Ironworkers Memorial Bridge or Iron Workers' Memorial Bridge may refer to:

The Yellowhead Bridge or the East Kamloops Bridge is a road bridge in Kamloops, British Columbia. It carries Highway 5 over the South Thompson River. It was completed in December of 1968 and has a length of 179.2 metres, not including a preceding railway overhead on the south side of the river.

British Columbia Highway 25, also known as the Terrace–Kitimat Highway, was a 59 km (37 mi) long spur of the Yellowhead Highway in the Regional District of Kitimat-Stikine. First opened on 28 September 1957 at a cost of $3.5 million, it provides a connection from Terrace, on Highway 16, south to Kitimat. It received the number 25 in 1964. In 1986, Highway 25 was renumbered and absorbed by Highway 37. As part of the renumbering, Highway 37 follows a 91 km (57 mi) concurrency with Highway 16 between Kitwanga, the former southern terminus of Highway 37, and Terrace.

The Red Bridge is a road bridge that spans the South Thompson River in Kamloops, British Columbia. The 400-metre long (1,300 ft) bridge carries two narrow road lanes of Mt. Paul Way between Lorne Street on the south bank of the river to the Mt. Paul industrial area on the north side. Mt. Paul Way then continues for 1.3 km (0.81 mi) through the industrial park to intersect with Highway 5. The Red Bridge is of the Howe truss design, and is one of the only remaining functioning bridges of this type in British Columbia.

References

  1. 1 2 Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing at Structurae
  2. British Columbia Department of Highways (1957). Minister of Highways Report for the Fiscal Year 1955/56 (Report). Victoria: Government of British Columbia. p. 84. doi:10.14288/1.0349122. J110.L5 S7; 1957_V02_08_N1_N212. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  3. British Columbia Department of Highways (1958). Minister of Highways Report for the Fiscal Year 1956/57 (Report). Victoria: Government of British Columbia. p. 96. doi:10.14288/1.0354204. J110.L5 S7; 1958_V02_04_J1_J243.
  4. "Monthly Volume Calendar - Second Narrows P-15-2EW - NY" (PDF). British Columbia Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. October 13, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2022.
  5. "New bridge open amid subdued air". The Province. August 26, 1960. p. 1. Retrieved December 5, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  6. Staff Writer (April 1, 1963). "Bridge Traffic Goes Smoothly, Because it's Free, Free, Free". Vancouver Sun. p. 1. Retrieved October 2, 2022.
  7. Lowe, Keith (June 26, 2000). "Bridge disaster recalled". North Shore News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2005. Retrieved February 4, 2006.
  8. "Nets under bridge 'impraticable'". The Province. December 11, 1957. p. 12. Retrieved December 5, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "50th anniversary of Second Narrows Bridge collapse". WorkSafe BC. June 17, 2008. Archived from the original on January 1, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2009.
  10. "Second Narrows Memorial". The Vancouver Sun. June 18, 1994. p. A3. Retrieved December 5, 2022 via Newspapers.com.