This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2022) |
Reversing Falls Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 45°15′34″N66°05′12″W / 45.2594°N 66.0868°W |
Carries | 2 lanes of Route 100, pedestrian sidewalk on both sides |
Crosses | Saint John River |
Locale | Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada |
Official name | Reversing Falls Bridge |
Characteristics | |
Total length | 190 metres (620 ft) |
History | |
Construction start | 1853 |
Location | |
The Reversing Falls Bridge is a two-lane bridge crossing the Saint John River at Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It carries New Brunswick Route 100 (Bridge Road) across the river and there is no toll for its use.
The Reversing Falls rapids are a notoriously dangerous stretch of water passing through a gorge which creates a chasm through the middle of the Saint John metropolitan region. Prior to construction of the first bridge in 1853, ferries were used to connect both sides of the river in the city.
The first bridge was a suspension bridge, built by Joseph Tomlinson, measured 190m in span. Its replacement, the current steel arch structure or Saint John Highway Arch Bridge (designed by Philip Louis Pratley), was opened to public use alongside the original in 1915. Both structures have shared the site of this crossing with the Reversing Falls Railway Bridge since 1885. It is also known as the floating bridge. [1]
Until the 1940s, the Reversing Falls Bridge also carried a streetcar line.
Until 1968, with the opening of a second bridge in Saint John, the Harbour Bridge, the Reversing Falls Bridge was the only link between the city's East and West sides.
Visitors may stop at a public viewing point above the bridge on the west bank of the river, or use a restaurant and gift shop constructed adjacent to its western abutment.
Reversing Falls Bridge has had issues with being a "suicide bridge", or a spot often used for suicide attempts, with the Saint John Police Force responding to an average of 20 incidents at the bridge annually between 2017 and 2022. [2] The first known suicide attempt in which somebody survived occurred on June 29, 1914, when it was still a suspension bridge. [3] [4] In 2016, plans for a $500,000 suicide barrier were paused by Bill Fraser, the Transportation and Infrastructure Minister at the time. [5] Both members of the public as well as the Saint John City Council have made calls to the province for the installation of a barrier in 2017, in 2019, and again in 2022. [6] The city was set to install security cameras on the bridge in September 2022, [7] but faced delays in January 2023. [8]
Saint John is a seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of George III. The port is Canada's third-largest by tonnage with a cargo base that includes dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise. The city has a strong industrial base, including oil refining and manufacturing, matched with finance and tourism sectors and research institutions such as the New Brunswick Museum and the University of New Brunswick.
The Ambassador Bridge is an international suspension bridge across the Detroit River that connects Detroit, Michigan, United States, with Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1929, the toll bridge is the busiest international border crossing in North America in terms of trade volume, carrying more than 25% of all merchandise trade between the United States and Canada by value. A 2004 Border Transportation Partnership study showed that 150,000 jobs in the Detroit–Windsor region and US$13 billion in annual production depend on the Detroit–Windsor international border crossing.
The Prince Edward Viaduct System, commonly referred to as the Bloor Viaduct, is the name of a truss arch bridge system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, connecting Bloor Street East, on the west side of the system, with Danforth Avenue on the east. The system includes the Rosedale Valley phase and the Sherbourne Phase, an embankment built to extend Bloor Street East to the Rosedale Ravine from Sherbourne Street. The Don Valley phase of the system, the most recognizable, spans the Don River Valley, crossing over the Bayview Avenue Extension, the Don River, and the Don Valley Parkway.
Route 1 is a highway in the southern part of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. It begins west of the Canada–United States border at St. Stephen, and runs east for 239.11 kilometres (148.58 mi) to Route 2 at River Glade.
The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge, also known as the Queenston–Lewiston Bridge, is an arch bridge that crosses the Niagara River gorge just south of the Niagara Escarpment. The bridge was officially opened on November 1, 1962. It is an international bridge between the United States and Canada. It connects Interstate 190 in the town of Lewiston, New York to Highway 405 in the community of Queenston, Ontario. The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge is architecturally similar to the Rainbow Bridge at nearby Niagara Falls.
The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, commonly known as the Whirlpool Bridge or the Lower Steel Arch Bridge, is a spandrel braced, riveted, two-hinged arch bridge that crosses the Canada–United States border, connecting the commercial downtown districts of Niagara Falls, Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York. This bridge is located approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) north of the Rainbow Bridge and about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the Falls. It was acquired by the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission in January 1959. Immediately upstream is the similar arch-style Michigan Central Railway Bridge, which has been out of service since 2001.
The Jacques Cartier Bridge is a steel truss cantilever bridge crossing the Saint Lawrence River from Montreal Island, Montreal, Quebec, to the south shore at Longueuil, Quebec, Canada. The bridge crosses Saint Helen's Island in the centre of the river, where offramps allow access to the Parc Jean-Drapeau and La Ronde amusement park.
The Reversing Falls are a series of rapids on the Saint John River located in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, where the river runs through a narrow gorge before emptying into the Bay of Fundy.
The Mactaquac Dam is an embankment dam used to generate hydroelectricity in Mactaquac, New Brunswick. It dams the waters of the Saint John River and is operated by NB Power with a capacity to generate 670 megawatts of electricity from 6 turbines; this represents 20 percent of New Brunswick's power demand.
Jumping from a dangerous location, such as from a high window, balcony, or roof, or from a cliff, dam, or bridge, is a common suicide method. The 2023 ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for jumping from a high place is X80*, and this method of suicide is also known clinically as autokabalesis. Many countries have noted suicide bridges such as the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge. Other well known suicide sites for jumping include the Eiffel Tower and Niagara Falls.
A suicide bridge is a bridge used frequently by people to end their lives, most typically by jumping off and into the water or ground below. A fall from the height of a tall bridge into water may be fatal, although some people have survived jumps from high bridges such as the Golden Gate Bridge. However, significant injury or death is far from certain; numerous studies report minimally injured persons who died from drowning.
The Third Avenue Bridge is a landmark structure of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, originally known as the St. Anthony Falls Bridge. It carries road traffic across the Mississippi River and upper fringes of Saint Anthony Falls. The multi-arched bridge meets with Third Avenue in downtown Minneapolis at its south end, but curves as it crosses the river, and connects with Central Avenue on its north end. The shallow "S" curve in the bridge was built to avoid fractures in the limestone bedrock that supports the bridge piers. The road is also designated Minnesota State Highway 65. Construction began in 1914, and it opened four years later in 1918. The bridge, which uses Melan arches of an open spandrel design, has been modified since that time. The 2,223-foot crossing was designed by city engineer Frederick W. Cappelen, who also created plans for other similar bridges in Minneapolis such as the Franklin Avenue Bridge. It cost US$862,254.00 at the time of construction.
The Pattullo Bridge is a through arch bridge that crosses the Fraser River and links the cities of New Westminster and Surrey in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia. It was named in honour of Thomas Dufferin Pattullo, the 22nd Premier of British Columbia. A key link between Surrey and the rest of Greater Vancouver, the Pattullo Bridge handles an average of 75,700 cars and 3840 trucks daily, or roughly 20% of vehicle traffic across the Fraser River as of 2013.
The Reversing Falls Railway Bridge is the name given to two different steel truss bridges crossing the Saint John River at the same location in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
The Saint John Harbour Bridge is three-span crossing of Saint John Harbour at the mouth of the Saint John River in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It opened in 1968.
The Edmundston–Madawaska Bridge is an international bridge which connects the cities of Edmundston, New Brunswick, in Canada and Madawaska, Maine, in the United States, across the Saint John River. The bridge consists of four steel through truss spans, each 70.71 metres (232.0 ft) in length, for a total length of 287.12 metres (942.0 ft), which carries a two lane open steel grid deck roadway.
Marathon by the Sea was an annual marathon race held in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada from 1995 to 2022. The race was a Boston Marathon qualifier, with 17 of the 77 runners qualifying in the 2012 edition of the run. The race was held in early August, but due to Saint John's coastal climate the marathon was known for its cool temperatures in spite of the summer season. The marathon was given a multi-page feature in Runner's World magazine, which called it "A race with a big heart and a warm smile -- and a perfect late-summer spot on the calendar... just right if you're looking for a break from the heat down south."
The Burgoyne Bridge is a bridge in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. The original bridge was built in 1915 by the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation. In 2010, construction of a new Burgoyne Bridge was recommended by the Niagara Region. However, the project was not completed until 2016 due to the estimated cost. The new bridge is 333 meters long and features a 125-metre main span supported by a steel arch.