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A Short History of the Second Narrows Bridge
Location: Second Narrows, Vancouver, B.C.
Date: collected 1999
Informant: Cherry Bouton
Source: Web site, http://www.cherrybouton.com. Used with permission.
A basculee portion allowed ships to go
through. The basculee had been installed at the south end of the bridge
in a shallow water area, to avoid building expensive towers and a lift
span. This decision proved to be a serious error. Many shipping men had
protested the design, claiming it would make navigation dangerous, and
they were soon proved correct.
The First
Bridge:
A bridge to the North Shore was
talked about as early as 1890. However, financial and political reasons
prevented its building until after World War I. The first bridge, the
original Second Narrows Bridge was completed in 1925. The North
Shore had been growing and the ferries were encumbered by motorcars. The
Second Narrows Bridge provided access for cars; a year later, it was used by trains as well.
© 1926,
Vancouver Public Library, Photo by Leonard
Frank.
| An Accident-Prone
Bridge:
Since it had been put up in 1925, the Second Narrows Bridge had been hit countless times by ships. Each time it was hit the bridge was out action until repaired. A 10,000 ton freighter, the Eurana hit it on March 10, 1927 causing almost $80,000 worth of damage. In 1928 the bridge was hit by the Norwich City. In 1930 the Losmar hit the south span. Finally, in September of the same year, a former sailing vessel turned log barge and called Pacific Gatherer, got wedged under the bridge’s fixed centre span when it was carried away by a fast moving eddy. As the tide rose, the span was ripped away. It hung from the rest of the bridge for awhile, then suddenly broke free and sunk into the depths of Burrard Inlet. The bridge link to the North Shore was severed for four years as lawsuits and the bankruptcy of the Bridge company delayed any attempt at repairs. Finally the second Narrows Bridge was sold to the Provincial Government in 1933. Repairs were immediately undertaken and a centre lift span was added. The bridge re-opened to traffic in 1934. |
 September 13, 1930. The Pacific Gatherer destroys the centre span of the bridge. The photo is taken from the south end of the bridge. © 1930, Vancouver Public Library.
|
| Bigger is
Better?
Begun in November 1957, and built alongside the older bridge, the current Second Narrows Bridge, was intended to replace the narrow roadway of the rail and car bridge. The bridge would carry six lanes of traffic. Construction was marred by four separate incidents costing the lives of twenty-five men. The worst occurred on June 17th, 1958, when a large section of the bridge span collapsed into the inlet. Eighteen workers died; some of them drowned by the belts that attached them to the bridge in case they fell. The opening of the new bridge finally took place on August 25, 1960. Plaques were put up at both end of the bridge to commemorate the workers who lost their lives during the construction. |
The collapse of the Second Narrows Bridge on June 17 1958. The Rail and car bridge can be seen behind the fallen span. © 1958, Vancouver Public Library. |
| Today:
The Second Narrows Bridge is the main link to Vancouver for the North Shore. Wider and, unlike the Lions Gate Bridge, able to handle heavy truck traffic, it handles most of the volume. It was recently re-named “The Ironworkers Memorial Bridge”, although people still refer to it as the Second Narrows. A recent seismic upgrading and re-decking have been done. |
on the Vancouver side. © 1998, CLIC Information Publishing Group. |
 The old Second Narrows bridge in its current form, as a rail bridge exclusively. © 1998, CLIC Information Publishing Group. |
 The Second Narrows Bridge, as seen from Brighton Park, on the Vancouver side. © 1998, CLIC Information Publishing Group. |
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| Bourdon, Donald J. The Boom Years: G.G. Nye's Photographs of North Vancouver 1905-1909. Vancouver: North Shore Museum and Archives, 1981. ISBN 0-88839-117-X. |
| Davis, Chuck. Reflections–One Hundred Years: A Celebration of the District of North Vancouver’s Centennial. Vancouver: Opus Productions Inc., 1990. ISBN 0-921926-06-5. |
| The Editors of the Urban Reader, ed. Vancouver’s First Century: A City Album 1860-1960. Vancouver: The City of Vancouver, 1977. ISBN 0-88894-146-3. |
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