Beaver Dam Bridge
Beaver Dam Bridge Pont Beaver Dam | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 48°51′55″N 65°05′17″W / 48.86528°N 65.08806°W |
| Crossed | York River, Quebec |
| Locale | Gaspe Peninsula |
| Characteristics | |
| Material | Concrete |
| No. of lanes | 2 |
| History | |
| Collapsed | May 22, 1963 |
| Location | |
 | |
The Beaver Dam Bridge (French: Pont Beaver Dam) was a bridge along the York River in Quebec, Canada. The bridge was situated on Quebec Route 198 and connected the Quebecois municipalities of Murdochville and Gaspé. The bridge collapsed on May 22, 1963, due to flood damage and killed 6 people, all mine workers heading toward Murdochville.[1][2]
Tragedy
On May 22, 1963, a pillar of the Beaver Dam Bridge was knocked down and swept away by flood waters early in the morning. Six cars who weren't aware of the pillar collapse plunged into the York River, banging hard on the bridge's concrete in the process, which ended up killing them. A car containing four people that plunged into the river floated 800 meters down the York River before the people in the car were able to escape and warn incoming traffic of the bridge's collapse, preventing further deaths.
Memorial
On May 19, 2013, almost 50 years after the collapse of the bridge, a monument was unveiled to honor the 6 men who died. On the monument is engraved the names of the victims and the survivors. The memorial project was started by Irvin Langlois, the son of one of the victims. "I thought it was important to highlight this accident that marked the history of the cities of Gaspe and Murdochville," said Irvin. "I was always surprised that we didn't do it, so I decided to do it and with the help of the City of Gaspe and our members. The memory of these men will always be alive."
More than 250 people gathered at the installation of the monument. Six wreaths were placed on the memorial, one for each of the victims. The monument was unveiled by the Gaspe councilor Nelson O'Connor, Irvin Langlois, as well as by a survivor of the bridge collapse who still resides in Gaspe, Dean Patterson.
References
- ^ "CBC.ca - Quebec AM". www.cbc.ca.
- ^ "Tragédie du pont Beaver Dam: un monument à la mémoire des victimes". www.journaldemontreal.com (in French).
 | This article about a specific bridge in Quebec is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |