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Over 100 years after passenger trains made their inaugural journey across the lower Saint Lawrence River on the longest clear-span cantilever bridge of its kind in the world, the aging Quebec Bridge is being thrown a lifeline by Canada's federal government. Several members of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's cabinet announced that the government is prepared to acquire the 1917-built bridge to complete long-promised restoration work.
Former president and CEO of iA Financial Group Yvon Charest has been appointed the role of negotiator, tasked with the responsibility of recommending a variety of options for the future of the bridge. The final report will be presented for consideration in 2020, and could include recommendations to transfer ownership from Canadian National Railway to the federal government, or force the company to restore the bridge through legislation.
Designated a National Historic Site in 1995, the Quebec Bridge was the first in North America constructed with nickel steel, and the first to use the K truss method of compression. Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier placed the cornerstone of the project on October 2, 1900, and seven years later, the south section of the bridge suddenly collapsed and killed 76 workers. A second collapse in 1916 claimed the lives of 13 workers, with the central span still resting at the bottom of the river.
The Quebec Bridge remains a vital transportation link between Levis and the Quebec City suburb of Sainte-Foy, carrying over 35,000 vehicles, eight VIA passenger trains and five CN freight trains every day.
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