CNR Bridge, Railway bridge in New Westminster, Canada
The CNR Bridge is a steel truss swing-span railway bridge over the north arm of the Fraser River, opened in 1931. It runs 4,200 feet long with a 240-foot central span, linking Burnaby with Richmond and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority facilities on Lulu Island. Its name comes from the initials of its user, the Canadian National Railway.
The Canadian Northern Railway planned to cross the Fraser at this location, but its 1917 Lulu Island branch connected to the tram-only BCER Queensborough bridge, leaving a 12.02-mile isolated line to Steveston. After CNR absorbed the bankrupt CNoR, a 1918 muskeg fire at Mile 4 damaged trestles and ended services. Work on the 4,200-foot bridge with a 240-foot central span began in July 1930; it opened in November 1931, and work trains laid 14 miles of track for the Lulu Island industrial branch.
The bridge takes its name from the initials of its operator, Canadian National Railway. Its opening signal is four long blasts on a vessel's horn, a local convention adopted because several bridges lie close together on the Fraser. Since 2013 river traffic has been watched by camera from the Fraser River Bridge in New Westminster.
Access to the bridge is generally limited as it is an active railway area and located within operational zones. The structure is best viewed from designated public viewing areas or from the nearby riverbank.
Because several bridges cross the Fraser nearby, the signal for opening the Lulu Island Bridge was set apart: a vessel sounds four long blasts on its horn. In 2013 CN removed the observer-operator from the bridge and now watches river traffic by camera from the Fraser River Bridge in New Westminster.
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