History - Traffic Bridge Crossing the South Saskatchewan River, Saskatoon, Canada.

            Traffic Bridge Crossing the South Saskatchewan River, Saskatoon, Canada.
The Traffic Bridge is a truss bridge that spans South Saskatchewan River, connecting Victoria Avenue to 3rd Avenue South and Spadina Crescent in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Opened October 10, 1907, it was the first vehicle bridge in Saskatoon, replacing an unreliable ferry service. The promised construction of the bridge was considered a prime factor in the amalgamation of the towns of Saskatoon, Nutana and Riversdale. The Traffic Bridge was the only road bridge in Saskatoon until 1916, when the University Bridge was completed. In 2010, the bridge was permanently closed due to severe corrosion and is awaiting demolition.
The Traffic Bridge came into being when residents of Nutana agreed to merge with the town of Saskatoon and the village of Riversdale to form a city. As a condition of their joining with the other two communities, they demanded that a bridge be built for foot and vehicular traffic. Up to then, the only way to cross the river was on an unreliable ferry, or a difficult and sometimes dangerous walk across the QLLS railway bridge. The province provided funding and John Gunn and Sons was selected as the contractor.  On October 10, 1907, the Traffic Bridge officially opened.
Less than a year after it opened, on June 7, 1908, the bridge became the site of Saskatoon's only shipping disaster, when a steamboat called the SS City of Medicine Hat crashed into one of the bridge's piers and sank; all aboard managed to make it to safety.  This accident marked the end of steamboat traffic on the river. An anchor presumed to be the SS City of Medicine Hat's was located in August 2006 by divers training just downstream, near the Broadway Bridge. This discovery led to a full-scale, five-day underwater excavation, which was conducted from September 8 to 12, 2008. A number of artifacts were uncovered from the water. A documentary film, titled "The Last Steamship: The Search for the SS City of Medicine Hat" was created in 2010 about the wreck and the search.
Two roadways cut out of the riverbank are often associated with the Traffic Bridge. Short Hill referred to the steep rise up the east bank from the foot of the bridge along Victoria Avenue. The grade was too steep for most wagon teams, as well as the streetcars that began operation in 1913.  Long Hill referred to the more gradual slope up the east riverbank from the foot of the bridge to the end of 12th Street, around where the end of the Broadway Bridge is today. This road followed the old ferry road up the bank along what is now Saskatchewan Crescent. Even the Long Hill was difficult for streetcars; in March 1922, a streetcar derailed when it slid off ice-covered tracks while attempting to turn onto the bridge.

   

Taken in: Canada / Saskatchewan / Saskatoon / Nutana (show map)

Taken on: November 7, 2012

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saskatchewan.

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river.

bridge.

historical.

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Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II, f/16.0, 1/25 sec, 70mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Aperture:	f/16.0
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	70mm
ISO:	100
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Elements 9.0 Macintosh
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