Niagara Canyon Bridge - Langford, BC - Truss Bridges on Waymarking.com

The following is from HistoricBridges.org:

This bridge is a deck truss cantilever bridge that was completed in 1884 to carry the Canadian Pacific Railway over the Fraser River in British Columbia in an area called Cisco. As such, the bridge was known as the Cisco Bridge. According to an 1894 Annual Report of the Department of Railways and Canals of the Dominion of Canada, the bridge was painted white for a time during its service on the Fraser River, which was the same colour as other bridges in the railway division.

In 1909-1910 the bridge was dismantled, relocated, and reassembled at its current location over Niagara Canyon on Vancouver Island to serve the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway, which was also a line of the Canadian Pacific. It has stood there to this day. When completed, this bridge was among the first cantilever truss bridges to be constructed in North America. This bridge, and the additional small number of cantilever truss bridges which had been built in the world at the time would serve as prototypical models that likely provided the gateway for the design and construction of the many cantilever truss bridges of increasing size that would be built in the years to come.

Somewhat unusual for bridges in North America, the Cisco Bridge's trusses were actually fabricated by a company in England. The specific company was Hawkes, Crayshay and Company of Gateshead, England. A historical photo shows a part of the bridge assembled in the bridge yard. Bridge builders would often test assemble all or part of a bridge to make sure everything fit before sending all the parts to the construction site. Given that this bridge would be shipped overseas, it was probably particularly important to make sure everything was right before shipping it out.

Today, both the Kentucky River Bridge and the Niagara River Bridge have been demolished. Therefore, the Cisco Bridge appears to be the oldest surviving cantilever truss bridge in North America. As such, the bridge today is distinguished as one of the most important bridges in North America. Not only does it appear to be the oldest surviving example in North America, it appears to be one of the earliest surviving cantilever truss bridges in the world. As an early cantilever truss bridge, it served as a prototype or model for cantilever bridges built after it. Although it was relocated long ago, the bridge appears to retain integrity of materials and design from the original 1884 construction such that the bridge's significance was not diminished by the relocation.

The bridge is 525 feet long with a main span length of 315 feet. A trail in nearby Goldstream Provincial Park, starting at the parking coordinates, runs parallel to Niagara Creek up to the south end of the bridge.

Parking Coordinates:: N 48° 28.962 W 123° 33.066 Length of Span: 525 feet www: http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=britishcolumbia/niagaracanyon/ Date Built: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Log your find with a picture of the bridge with yourself or your GPS in the foreground. This shot does not have to be taken "on" the bridge. The shot should show the "truss" structure of the bridge as well.

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