Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park, Nature reserve in Fraser Canyon, Canada
Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park protects a section of the Fraser Canyon around a metal suspension bridge. The 1926 bridge has two light-gray concrete towers on stone bases, three main cables, a wooden-plank deck and metal trusses, and it crosses a rocky gorge. The park also preserves part of the Cariboo Road and has a picnic area and roadside stop on Highway 1.
The original Alexandra Bridge was built in 1863 as a crucial link in the Cariboo Wagon Road, connecting prospectors from Fort Yale to the Barkerville gold fields. A replacement bridge was completed in 1926, though it retained elements of the earlier structure.
The bridge takes its name from Princess Alexandra of Denmark, married to the future Edward VII in 1863, the year the first bridge opened. The Nlaka'pamux and Sto:lo continue traditional salmon fishing at the site during runs, and fish-drying racks can be seen near the bridge.
The park has six picnic tables and three pit toilets for visitors. To reach the suspension bridge, you must cross an active railway track, so caution and awareness are essential.
The 1926 bridge reused the eastern abutment of the 1863 bridge, which had been built on bedrock by Joseph Trutch's crew with steelwork shipped from San Francisco to Yale and carried on by canoe. The 1863 span measured about 80 metres and stood 27 metres above the river.
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