BDI Bridge, Steel footbridge in Winnipeg, Canada
The Elm Park Bridge, known locally as the BDI Bridge, is a steel truss bridge over the Red River in Winnipeg, linking Kingston Crescent in St. Vital with Jubilee Avenue in Fort Rouge. Its deck is 16 feet (4.9 m) wide, with a sidewalk along its east side.
The Elm Park Bridge Company built the bridge in 1912–1913 for CA$125,000, and it opened on 24 May 1914 as a toll crossing: 5 cents for pedestrians, 10 cents for cars and 25 cents for trucks. The Municipality of St. Vital bought it for $5,000 in 1945 and reopened it toll-free in 1946. It was closed to vehicles in 1974.
The nearby Drive-In ice cream shop shaped the bridge's local identity and gave it a name that both visitors and residents use when talking about the crossing.
The crossing stays open year-round and offers a direct route for walkers and cyclists between residential areas. Access is straightforward and the surface suits both types of users.
The bridge's nickname comes from the Bridge Drive-In, an ice cream stand opened next to it on 1 May 1957; the stand itself was named after the bridge. The city once considered demolition in the mid-1990s, but the estimated $1,000,000 cost ended the idea, and in spring 2010 its concrete piers were repaired for $300,000.
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