New Westminster Bridge, Railway bridge in New Westminster, Canada
New Westminster Bridge is a double-deck steel railway bridge crossing the Fraser River in New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada. It has a swing section at its center that rotates open to let ships through, and a spread span at its eastern end to bridge the Y-shaped rail junction below.
The bridge opened in 1904 carrying rail and vehicle traffic on separate levels across the Fraser River. When the Pattullo Bridge was completed in 1937, road traffic moved there and this structure became a rail-only crossing.
The bridge shares its name with the city of New Westminster, which was itself named after Westminster in London by Queen Victoria. Standing on the riverbank, visitors can watch freight trains cross overhead while boats move along the Fraser River below.
The bridge is an active rail facility, so it cannot be crossed on foot or by car. The riverbanks on either side offer the clearest views of the structure and the best chance to see the swing section in motion.
The spread span at the eastern end was built specifically to bridge a Y-shaped rail junction sitting directly below it, a structural solution rarely seen on bridges of this type. This detail is visible from the riverbank and shows how the bridge was tailored to fit the existing track layout.
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