Mintlaw Viaduct, Railway bridge over Red Deer River in Alberta, Canada
The Mintlaw Viaduct is an abandoned steel and wooden railway trestle over the Red Deer River near Mintlaw, Alberta, built by the Alberta Central Railway in 1912. It is the second longest Canadian Pacific Railway bridge of its kind in Alberta and the longest and highest bridge in Central Alberta.
Construction started in 1911 under the Alberta Central Railway, and the Canadian Pacific Railway completed the bridge as a steel and wooden structure in 1912. The crossing remained in active service for many decades as a key rail route through the region.
The viaduct became a county landmark after Red Deer County acquired it in 2009, marking its importance in the region's transportation story. The structure represents a piece of railway heritage that residents recognize as part of their local identity.
The trestle stands near the intersection of the C & E Trail and McKenzie Road, west of Tuttle and northwest of Penhold. Red Deer County bought it from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 2009 for $1 and funded maintenance on the west side in 2010 and the east side in 2014, with a regional pedestrian and cycling trail proposed along the line.
The bridge ranks among the longest structures of its kind on Canadian Pacific Railway routes and attracted preservation efforts from local groups. Its value lies more in representing early railway development through river valleys than in any engineering breakthrough.
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