On this day in 1898, Edmonton's town council was discussing the construction of the first bridge across the North Saskatchewan River.
During the meeting, the mayor read out correspondence regarding the bridge between the town and Ottawa, noting the fact it remained unbuilt "was not from apathy" on the part of Edmonton's leaders.
At the time, both Edmonton and Strathcona were rapidly growing but separated by the North Saskatchewan River. Crossing the river was slow and limited to options like the cable ferry set up by John Walter in the 1880s. Demand for something more convenient and faster was high.
Construction began on the Edmonton Bridge the following year. The bridge is now known as the Low Level Bridge, but that name is somewhat misleading: The Low Level Bridge is actually two different bridges, each built half a century apart.
The original half opened in 1900, allowing wagons and pedestrians to cross. Two years later, railway tracks were added, connecting Edmonton to Strathcona (and the rest of Canada) by rail via the Edmonton, Yukon and Pacific Railway. Without a rail connection, many worried that Edmonton would wither away and Stratchona would continued to grow. Tracks were added in 1908 for the city's radial railway streetcars.
The Low Level got its current name when the High Level Bridge opened in 1913. The fact that it is low and close to the water became a pointed concern in 1915. After days of heavy rain, the river's waters rose by 10 metres, washing away many buildings within the river valley. Worried that the flood would destroy a vital link for the city, rail crews parked heavy train cars filled with sand on the Low Leel Bridge to weigh it down. It was a desperate measure, with engines sat on either side, ready to pull the cars away if it failed. Luckily, the bridge survived.
Eventually, a deck was added to allow vehicles to use the bridge. In 1949, the city built a second bridge, parallel to the first, designed to resemble the original. A year later, the railway tracks were removed. The bridge has been dedicated to vehicle and pedestrian traffic ever since.
Though the Low Level Bridge has connected the north and south banks of the North Saskatchewan for 125 years, its future remains uncertain. The bridge is currently partially closed for rehabilitation, as the newer half is nearing the end of its lifespan. But that rehabilitation is only a temporary measure that will extend its use for another decade. The future plan could be to remove that section of the bridge entirely.
This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.