J. C. Van Horne Bridge

J.C. Van Horne Bridge in Campbellton over the Restigouche River

The J.C. Van Horne Bridge is a Canadian steel through truss/steel deck truss bridge crossing the Restigouche River between Campbellton, New Brunswick and Pointe-à-la-Croix, Quebec.

Built between June 1958 and October 1961, the bridge was opened to traffic on October 15, 1961. As an interprovincial crossing, the bridge was constructed under a three-party agreement between the governments of Canada, New Brunswick and Quebec.

Measuring 805 m (2641.07 ft) in total length, the bridge consists of four deck-truss approach-spans joined in the middle with a cantilever-through-truss structure. The middle structure is composed of two anchor spans and one clear span over the navigational channel measuring 380 m (1246.71 ft). It carries 2 traffic lanes and 2 sidewalks.

History

Crossing the Restigouche River between Campbellton, NB and Pointe-à-la-Croix, QC had long been a bone of contention by locals in both provinces. A federally-funded inter-provincial ferry service between the two communities had proven adequate until the 1950s when vehicle traffic began to grow at much higher rate than forecast.

By the late-1950s, local New Brunswick PC Member of Parliament J.C. Van Horne made the case for a bridge and invited representatives from the federal and provincial governments to witness a "typical weekend" lineup at the ferry. Van Horne had chosen the Ste. Anne Feast weekend (On or around July 26th) where the lineups would be predictably long on both sides.

The government representatives were convinced of the need for a bridge to replace the ferry service and acceded to Van Horne's wishes. The bridge was later named in his honour.

View of bridge and Campbellton from Sugarloaf Mountain, 30 May 2008