Quebec Bridge
The Quebec Bridge (French: pont de Québec) is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower Saint Lawrence River between Sainte-Foy (a former suburb that in 2002 became a western area of Quebec City) and Lévis, in Quebec, Canada. The project failed twice during its construction, in 1907 and 1916, at the cost of 88 lives and additional people injured. It took more than 30 years to complete and eventually opened in 1919.
Quebec Bridge Pont de Québec | |
|---|---|
The Quebec Bridge from the west side | |
| Coordinates | 46°44′46″N 71°17′16″W |
| Carries | Route 175 Canadian National Railway and Via Rail 1 pedestrian walkway |
| Crosses | St. Lawrence River |
| Locale | Quebec City, and Lévis, Quebec |
| Owner | Canadian National Railway |
| Maintained by | Canadian National Railway |
| Preceded by | Pierre Laporte Bridge |
| Followed by | Île d'Orléans Bridge (partial crossing) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cantilever bridge |
| Total length | 987 m (3,238 ft) |
| Width | 29 m (95 ft) wide |
| Longest span | 549 m (1,801 ft) |
| Clearance above | (?) |
| Clearance below | 46 m (151 ft) (high tide) |
| No. of lanes | 3 |
| Rail characteristics | |
| No. of tracks | 1 |
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
| Structure gauge | AAR |
| Electrified | No |
| History | |
| Construction cost | $22 million (Approx. 350M$ in 2018) |
| Opened | December 3, 1919 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | none since 1942 |
| Designated | 1995 |
| Location | |
The Quebec Bridge is a riveted steel truss structure and is 987 m (3,238 ft) long, 29 m (95 ft) wide, and 104 m (341 ft) high. Cantilever arms 177 m (581 ft) long support a 195 m (640 ft) central structure, for a total span of 549 m (1,801 ft), still the longest cantilever bridge span in the world. (It was the all-categories longest span in the world until the Ambassador Bridge was completed in 1929.) It is the easternmost (farthest downstream) complete crossing of the Saint Lawrence River.
The bridge accommodates three highway lanes (there were none until 1929, when one was added; another was added in 1949 and a third in 1993), one rail line (two until 1949), and a pedestrian walkway (originally two). At one time, it also carried a streetcar line. Since 1993, it has been owned by the Canadian National Railway.
The Quebec Bridge was designated a National Historic Site in 1995.