Fraser Street Bridge (1894)

The Fraser St. Bridge (1894–1974), also known as the Fraser Ave. Bridge, North Arm Bridge, No. 5 Rd. Bridge, or Twigg Island Bridge,[1] was a crossing over the north arm of the Fraser River in Metro Vancouver.

Fraser St. Bridge
Northward onto approach from Lulu Island, 1918
Coordinates49°11′53″N 123°05′28″W
CarriesVehicular traffic, pedestrians
CrossesFraser River north arm
LocaleSunset-Richmond
Characteristics
DesignTruss bridges
History
Inaugurated1894
Location

History

Local government burden

Laid in 1875, North Arm Rd. (now Fraser St.) connected the Fraser River farming area to the False Creek Trail (now Kingsway).[2] Opened in 1894, the low-level two-lane bridge linked North Arm Road with No. 5 Rd., Richmond. Just north of the structure's midway point, ramps provided access to Twigg Island (now the western part of Mitchell Island). The south channel comprised the fixed link, and the north one included the swing span,[3] measuring 55 feet (17 m), that lengthened to 70 feet (21 m) in the 1905 rebuild.[4] During the 1894 Fraser flood, floating debris destroyed more than half the southern section,[5] causing $2,000 damage.[6] The province made a $1,000 contribution the following year toward similar repairs.[5]

Weight limits placed in 1896 restricted traffic to one loaded wagon at a time. The speed limit for automobiles was 3 mph (4.8 km/h). In 1911, 11 people were charged with trotting their horses across the structure.[7] At this time, driving a horse across many bridges at faster than walking pace was an offence.[8] In those early years, the bridge tender slotted an iron bar into a capstan, and slowly walked around it 25 times to open or close the span. Shifts were 12 hours long. During high winds, even with assistance from motorists, the process could double the usual 15 minutes. From 1948, an electric motor performed this function.[9][10]

North Arm Rd. became Fraser Ave. in 1910, and Fraser St. in 1948.[2] However, the name Fraser Ave. Bridge continued in use by much of the public for decades, and was used officially until 1968.[11] The bridge appears to have been a joint responsibility of the municipalities of South Vancouver and Richmond. The part of South Vancouver west of Cambie St. (formerly Bridge St.), but cutting west at 59th Ave. (formerly Essex St.) and south beside Ash St.,[12] formed the separate municipality of Point Grey in 1908. The eastern part, lacking a strong revenue base, faced financial collapse, which included an inability to pay its share of upkeep costs for the bridge.[5] However, when a 1916 ice floe destroyed 160 feet (49 m) of the bridge, South Vancouver did pay half the $1,128 repairs.[13]

Fraser Avenue Bridge, open span position, 1918

On a clear moonlit November evening that year, a jitney operating as a bus from the Ladner Ferry, was driving at an excessive speed of 10–15 mph. Failing to observe the red light showing for some time, it crashed through the light iron gates, travelled a further 20 feet (6.1 m), and plunged into the river. Two men and a little girl were rescued. The nine who perished, included driver George Smith, and Annie Evans and her older daughter, whose family brought the legal action. Smith was familiar with the bridge's fixed red and green light warning configuration that rotated with the swing span to control both river and roadway traffic. The gate, formerly positioned 10 feet (3 m) from the brink, had saved a truck during a prior incident. Although the province built the bridge, Richmond paid half the $40,000 construction cost, and subsequently operated and maintained the crossing. A jury found the two municipalities and the driver equally liable. However, the trial judge gave judgment against Richmond alone, awarding $5,000 to the bereaved family. The Court of Appeal, equally divided as to Richmond's negligence, dismissed the action.[14][15] The Privy Council, which met in August 1919, upheld the earlier verdicts.[16]

In 1917, the municipalities asked the province to take over the bridge, Richmond having spent $20,000 on maintenance. Being on the direct route to the ferry, Delta residents equally benefitted. During the latter part of that year, the longer southern section was open, but the damaged northern part was closed to vehicles.[17]

In 1918, a new Howe truss span was installed.[18] That year, the province ousted the whole South Vancouver council, appointing Francis Joseph Gillespie, as commissioner, to reorganize the municipal finances.[5] In December 1919, when Gillespie wanted the municipality to assume equal liability for the Evans' case, residents were angry.[19]

According to one account, tragedy again struck in 1921, when nine jitney passengers also plunged to their deaths at an open span. The two municipalities equally contributed to the $30,000 damages award. Tug/barge/log boom collisions, periods of closure, repairs, and ongoing maintenance disproportionately burdened Richmond, because appeals for provincial aid yielded limited results.[13][20]

Provincial government headache
Fraser Avenue Bridge, closed span position, 1919

In 1929, the province finally agreed to assume responsibility for the bridge and No. 5 Rd.[21] That year, South Vancouver and Point Grey amalgamated with Vancouver.[2] After the 1931 rebuild, the bridge was described as a 20-foot (6.1 m) wide asphaltic-concrete roadway with a sidewalk, 150-foot (46 m) Howe truss span, and pile-trestle approaches.[22][23]

Chung Chuck, a Delta potato farmer, who disputed the authority of the marketing board, disregarded the respective regulations.[24] In 1937, he knifed Earl A McKay, a board inspector, during a skirmish at the bridge. The instigating party unclear, both they, and some non-Chinese involved in the incident, faced assault charges.[25]

In official classification, the north section was bridge No. 6 and the south one No. 8.[26] A guard patrolled the crossing at the start of World War II.[27] In 1941–42, the No. 8 deck was replaced and asphalted.[28][29] The next year, a new cabin was built for the bridge tenders.[30] In 1944–45, impact damage from a barge required rebuilding the No. 6 downstream pier.[31] Two years later, the No. 6 deck was replaced.[32]

During 1949–51, extensive maintenance occurred.[33] In 1951–52, new steel open-grid type decking was installed on the swing span, and protection dolphins for the trestle approaches.[34] In 1954–55, the No. 6 deck approaches were replaced and a non-skid seal coat applied to both bridge decks.[35] In 1955, after sustaining severe damage from a barge collision, a fractured Howe truss and the sidewalk were replaced, and the sway bracing renewed, during the three-and-a-half-week closure.[36] To avoid tolls on Oak Street Bridge (opened in 1957), most traffic initially used the Fraser Street Bridge, causing massive congestion.[21] During 1958–60, the No. 8 was redecked and resurfaced.[37]

A 1963 election campaign promise included a replacement bridge.[38] That year, police investigated written and telephone threats made to tug boat operators by irate motorists delayed by the frequent span openings.[39] The next year, the No. 8 was redecked and paved.[40] In 1965, the swing span mechanism underwent extensive repairs,[41] and a $10m replacement bridge was affirmed.[42] The following year, an empty barge took out the No. 8 centre span. A truck driver, and seven children standing on the bridge, plunged into the Fraser. The driver escaped by smashing a window of his submerged truck. All were rescued. The collision cut a gas pipeline and phone cable. A single-lane Bailey bridge was floated into position within 26 hours,[43][44] but a permanent centre span was not floated into position until nine months later.[45]

During the planning and construction stages, the Knight Street Bridge (opened in 1974) was known as the Fraser St. Bridge replacement. Construction began in 1969.[46] The following year, fire destroyed the fixed-span No. 8., closing the bridge for almost four weeks.[47] Labour alone for the reconstruction totalled $115,000.[48] Two weeks after the Knight St. Bridge opened, the Fraser St. one closed to vehicles.[5] Over the next three years, demolition cost about $230,000. The steel truss became part of a bridge located elsewhere.[49]

Some images.[50]

Transit
Former routes, and closest stops

The following routes once used the bridge:

  • Ferry Auto Stage (Nov 1913 Fraser/Marine-Ladner Ferry)[51][52]
  • Pacific Stage Lines (subsidiary of BC Motor Transportation, subsidiary of BCER;[53] operated Vancouver-Ladner Ferry; c.1948 rerouted from the Marpole Bridge)[54]
  • Scenic Stage (1946; Fraser/Marine-No. 5 Rd-No. 4 Rd loop;[55][56] late 1947 licence revoked for poor service)[57][58]
  • 73 No. 2 Rd-No. 5 Rd. (late 1947;[59][60] Feb 1958 discontinued)
  • 65 No. 5 Rd. (Feb 1958;[61][62] a Jul 1966 ceased proceeding to the bridge, instead turning west on Bridgeport Rd and terminating at the Sexsmith Loop)[63]
  • 69 No. 5 Rd-Cambie (Feb 1958)[61][62] a

^a . Richmond services temporarily terminated at the south end of the bridge during extensive repairs, such as the month long closure in 1964.[64]


Fraser station, at the north end of the bridge, was the closest BCER rail transit on the Marpole-New Westminster interurban (1909–56).[65][66]


Opened in 1909[67] as far as 51st Ave (formerly Ferris Rd), the BCER 6/7 Fraser Ave. streetcar route extended southward to 59th Ave. (formerly Page Rd.) in 1912.[68][69] The next year, the terminus advanced to SE Marine Dr. (formerly River Rd.).[70][71] In 1948, Fraser St. was the first route converted to trolleybus mode.[72] During the following years, the only change was the trolley renumbering to 6 Fraser.[73][74]


Near Fraser/Marine, the closest bus stops were on the following routes:

  • 6 (see above)
  • 65 (see above)
  • 69 (see above)
  • 73 (see above)
  • W5 Marpole-New Westminster (pre-1950;[66] c.1963 renumbered W3)
  • W3 Marpole-8th Ave-2nd St (formerly W5; c.1963)[75]


See also


Footnotes
  1. Dawe 1996, p. 34.
  2. "Fraser Street history". www.fraserstreetstories.ca.
  3. Dawe 1996, pp. 34–35.
  4. "The Daily Colonist, 20 Jul 1902". www.archive.org.
  5. Dawe 1996, p. 35.
  6. "The Daily Colonist, 5 Jun 1894". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 8 Jun 1894". www.archive.org.
  7. Dawe 1996, pp. 35–36.
  8. "The Daily Colonist, 3 Jun 1911". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 29 Jul 1911". www.archive.org.
  9. Dawe 1996, p. 41.
  10. "Fraser Street history". www.pause.com.
  11. "Highways Annual Report 1967–68". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. C170.
  12. "Image: Point Grey map, c.1911". www.vancouver.ca. Williams & Murdoff.
  13. Ross, Leslie J. (1979). "Child of the Fraser". Richmond '79 Centennial Society. pp. 91–93. ISBN 0-9690031-0-2 – via www.richmond.ca.
  14. "The Daily Colonist, 12 Nov 1916". www.archive.org. p. 1.
  15. "Court of Appeal, Evans…vs…South Vancouver…and…Richmond" (PDF). www.library.ubc.ca. pp. 60–73.
  16. Dawe 1996, pp. 36–37.
  17. "The Daily Colonist, 7 Mar 1917". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 21 Oct 1917". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 4 Nov 1917". www.archive.org.
  18. "The Daily Colonist, 6 Jun 1918". www.archive.org.
  19. "The Daily Colonist, 3 Dec 1919". www.archive.org.
  20. Dawe 1996, pp. 37–38.
  21. Dawe 1996, p. 39.
  22. "The Daily Colonist, 2 Feb 1929". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 18 Mar 1930". www.archive.org.
  23. "Public Works Annual Report 1930–31". www.open.library.ubc.ca. pp. G8 & G130.;
    "Public Works Annual Report 1931–32". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. M13.
  24. "The Daily Colonist, 29 Jul 1929". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 11 Oct 1929". www.archive.org.
  25. "The Daily Colonist, 2 Mar 1937". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 4 Mar 1937". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 23 Mar 1937". www.archive.org.
  26. "Public Works Annual Report 1937–38 onward". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. X81.
  27. "Public Works Annual Report 1939–40". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. P80.
  28. "The Daily Colonist, 24 Apr 1941". www.archive.org.
  29. "Public Works Annual Report 1941–42". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. T42.
  30. "Public Works Annual Report 1942–43". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. O17.
  31. "Public Works Annual Report 1944–45". www.open.library.ubc.ca. pp. O18 & O73.
  32. "Public Works Annual Report 1946–47". www.open.library.ubc.ca. pp. P17 & P75.
  33. "Public Works Annual Report 1949–50". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. Q105.;
    "Public Works Annual Report 1950–51". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. N109.
  34. "Public Works Annual Report 1951–52". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. P38.
  35. "Public Works Annual Report 1954–55". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. K41.
  36. "Highways Annual Report 1955–56". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. N29.
  37. "Highways Annual Report 1958–59". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. G58.;
    "Highways Annual Report 1959–60". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. F106.
  38. "The Daily Colonist, 1 Feb 1967". www.archive.org.
  39. "The Daily Colonist, 13 Dec 1963". www.archive.org.
  40. "Highways Annual Report 1964–65". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. C151.
  41. "Highways Annual Report 1965–66". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. C77.
  42. "The Daily Colonist, 18 Jun 1965". www.archive.org.
  43. "The Daily Colonist, 24 Jun 1966". www.archive.org.
  44. "Highways Annual Report 1966–67". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. C11.
  45. "The Daily Colonist, 28 Mar 1967". www.archive.org.
  46. "The Daily Colonist, 20 Jul 1969". www.archive.org.
  47. "The Daily Colonist, 23 Jun 1970". www.archive.org.;
    "The Daily Colonist, 19 Jul 1970". www.archive.org.
  48. "Highways Annual Report 1970–71". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. C11.
  49. "Highways Annual Report 1974–75". www.open.library.ubc.ca. pp. B48 & B188.;
    "Highways and Public Works Annual Report 1975–76". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. B167.;
    "Highways and Public Works Annual Report 1976–77". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. B281.
  50. "Fraser St Bridge swing span". www.unbc.ca.;
    "Fraser St Bridge swing span". www.unbc.ca.;
    "Fraser St Bridge southern main span". www.unbc.ca.
  51. "Delta Times, 6 Dec 1913". www.open.library.ubc.ca.
  52. "Delta Times, 13 Dec 1913". www.open.library.ubc.ca.
  53. Roy, Patricia E. (1986). "The British Columbia Electric Railway Company, 1897–1928". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. 403.
  54. "Image: Transit route map, 1950". www.vancouver.ca. Dominion Map & Blueprint.
  55. "Public Utilities Commission Annual Report 1945–46". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. J14.
  56. "Public Utilities Commission Annual Report 1946–47". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. I36.
  57. Correspondence, 2 Apr 1947, notice of public hearing: Richmond Archives
  58. "Public Utilities Commission Annual Report 1947–48". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. I18.
  59. "Public Utilities Commission Annual Report 1947–48". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. I19.
  60. "Image: Transit route maps, 1950". www.vancouver.ca. Challenger Cartographers for BCER.
  61. "The Buzzer, 28 Feb 1958" (PDF). www.translink.ca. BCER.
  62. "Image: Transit route maps, 1958". www.vancouver.ca. Evergreen Press for BCER.
  63. "The Buzzer, 15 Jul 1966" (PDF). www.translink.ca. BC Hydro.
  64. "The Buzzer, 1 May 1964" (PDF). www.translink.ca. BC Hydro.
  65. "Canadian Rail, Jul-Aug 1990" (PDF). www.exporail.org. Canadian Railroad Historical Assn. pp. 120 & 123.
  66. "Image: Transit route map, 1950". www.vancouver.ca. Challenger Cartographers for BCER.
  67. "Fraser Street Streetcars". www.fraserstreetstories.ca.
  68. "BCER paper at NELA Convention, 1912". www.open.library.ubc.ca. p. 29.
  69. "Image: South Vancouver map, c.1910". www.vancouver.ca. G.O.S. Stores.
  70. "The Greater Vancouver Chinook, May 25, 1912". www.open.library.ubc.ca.
  71. "The Greater Vancouver Chinook, Dec 20, 1913". www.open.library.ubc.ca.
  72. "The Buzzer, 24 Mar 2009". www.translink.ca.
  73. "The Buzzer, 20 Mar 1953" (PDF). www.translink.ca. BCER.
  74. "Image: Transit route map, 1954". www.vancouver.ca. Sectional Map & Street Directory Co.;
    "Image: Transit route map, 1956". www.vancouver.ca. Sectional Map & Street Directory Co.;
    "Image: Transit route map, 1957". www.vancouver.ca. Evergreen Press for BCER.
  75. "The Buzzer, 27 Dec 1963" (PDF). www.translink.ca. BC Hydro.


References
  • Dawe, Alan (1996). Richmond and its Bridges. City of Richmond Archives. ISBN 0-9690031-2-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)


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