__1996: __The structure of the Confederation Bridge is finished. It connects Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick on the mainland. At a length of 8 miles, it is the world's longest bridge over icy waters.
When Prince Edward Island became a province of Canada in 1873, a winter voyage across the Northumberland Strait routinely involved getting stuck in the ice and often produced casualties. The terms of the union between P.E.I. (until then still an official part of Great Britain) and the young Canadian confederation included year-round ferry service, enshrined in the constitution, to guarantee trade and communication.
People were seeking alternatives even back then: Bridges, tunnels and causeways were regularly proposed, with varying degrees of credibility. The 1963 national elections brought support from both major political parties for a cross-strait link, but the project was canceled for political and technical reasons in 1969.
By 1987, technological advances and public pressure made a permanent link possible. A 1992 plebiscite on Prince Edward Island and approval of an amendment to the national constitution in 1993 allowed for a privately financed bridge to supplant the constitutionally protected ferry.
Construction began in late 1993. The design consists of 65 piers set in water often over a hundred feet deep, supporting a series of prestressed-concrete box frames, designed to resist a hundred years of high winds, strong currents and the continual crush-and-release of ice floes.
The bridge is essentially 176 different pieces of prestressed concrete and steel, organized into three parts: the west approach bridge, east approach bridge and navigation span. Sections for the east and west spans were built in New Brunswick, while the navigation span — the main part of the bridge — was constructed on Prince Edward Island.
A massive catamaran, designed specifically to build bridges, was brought from Denmark to move the pieces into place. At its peak, the bridge’s construction employed more than 5,000 people and accounted for almost 5 percent of the region’s economy. The same elements the bridge is designed to withstand — changing ice conditions, high winds and unpredictable currents — complicated the building process but were successfully overcome.
The final concrete box was put into place Nov. 19, 1996, marking the completion of the bridge’s structure. It opened to traffic the following May 31, and Prince Edward Island saw an immediate jump in the number of visitors.
In both scale and structure, the Confederation Bridge remains one of the most impressive bridges in the world.
Source: Various
Photo: catmoran/Flickr
