Tuesday Treasures

 

Tom the backroads traveller hosts this weekly meme.

Crossing from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick

It is also the longest bridge over ice covered water in the world.

The Confederation Bridge was built between 1993 and 1997 to provide a more reliable and high-capacity means of transit between Prince Edward Island and mainland Canada. 

When Prince Edward Island joined Confederation in 1873, the Government of Canada committed to providing continuous communication to the island. This role was originally filled by the Cape Jourimain iceboat service, and later the Cape Tormentine ferry, which transported mail and passengers across the Northumberland Strait. 

Map of P.E.I. showing various routes across Northumberland Strait over time

Early proposals for a fixed-link crossing included an underwater tunnel and a rock-filled causeway. In the 1960s, a roadbed was built to the edge of Jourimain Island with the intent of building a fixed-link, but the project was never completed.

In the late 1980s, new-found enthusiasm revived the project and construction began in 1993. The 12.9 kilometre box girder bridge opened to the public in 1997, ending the service of the Cape Tormentine ferry and the Cape Jourimain lighthouse. 

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