The sole purpose of this bridge is to carry small trains of chemicals and fertilizer between the Teck (originally Cominco) smelter, immediately east of the bridge, and the Cominco fertilizer plant, about one km. to the west. To get there the track must follow a circuitous path of three or four km. to ascend the grade between the smelter and fertilizer plant.
At one time the track continued further up the hill to Rossland, but those days are long gone. Originally routed into downtown Trail and a passenger depot, the track now goes directly into the Teck yards, through the yard, and north about 25 km. to Castlegar, where it connects with the CPR's main line there.
The bridge itself is a concrete and steel girder affair of a couple of hundred feet. Relatively new, it likely is the second or even third bridge at this location, as the line was built about 1896 to connect the gold/copper mines of Rossland with the smelter at Trail.
Crossing beside the bridge are a number of pipes which carry liquids and gasses from the smelter to the fertilizer plant.