Landmark lift: Red Deer’s historic CPR bridge moved for $22.3M restoration project | CBC News
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It’s not every day people get to see a century old bridge moved.
And residents of Red Deer got that opportunity last week as the city’s iconic 118-year-old CPR bridge was hoisted into the air by three red cranes.
“[I] played on it when I was a kid and walked across it many times,” said lifetime Red Deer resident Dwane Makowski. “Now you can look back and go, ‘I was there that day.’ ”
After 120 years, the bridge is being moved to restore it — to the tune of $22.3 million dollars.
Why the restoration?
Decades before it became a pedestrian crossing, Canadian Pacific Railway Bridge was built in 1908 for trains to travel across the Red Deer River.
Kurtis Anketell, the project’s bridge engineer said it “helped the development of Red Deer with the railway coming through.” But over decades of use, some wear and tear became evident.
“We had timber deck on there [that] was rotten. We knew the foundations were at the end of their lives and we had some corrosion really advancing on the steel trusses,” he said.
What does it take to move a century-old bridge? Three cranes, around $22 million and years of planning. But as CBC’s Lina Elsaadi reports, saving Red Deer’s iconic bridge was dividing community residents.
“We’ve had bridge inspection reports identifying concerns for the last 20 years, but it was really a push in the last five years that we had to do something.”
That ‘something’ is moving the south truss five metres and the north truss to 15 metres over onto newly built foundations, as well as stripping the trusses of lead paint and repainting them. New lights and security cameras will also be installed for safety.
Not everyone is happy
Restoration is costing the city around $11 million, with the federal government contributing the same amount through a grant. Anketell said maintenance costs would be minimal.
The decision was made by the city council, but some residents didn’t think it was the best use of tax dollars. Resident Travis Lahma said amid cost of living issues, he wanted to see the money allocated into other areas like public safety, street and sidewalk repairs, or family events.
“There’s all kinds of stuff that needs to get done, but we’re hell bent on fixing the bridge downtown that no one’s going to use or a small portion of people will use.”
Demolition would have cost around $8 million, but Anketell said “we can’t just get rid of it.”
“It’s an important active transportation route connecting north Red Deer into downtown … we see over 1,000 people a day using the bridge, especially in the summer.”
Derek Hoskins, who used the bridge regularly, is excited to see it reopen soon.
“This train bridge means a lot to me. I took this to work all the time… now that it’s reopening again, it’s going to be a lot easier. It’s like a shortcut for me to go to home and work.”
History lesson
It wasn’t the first time the city considered demolishing the bridge. In 1990, the train line was moved to the west of the city limits.
“People didn’t think they needed [the bridge]. However, local residents, especially in [nearby] Riverside Meadows, really pushed to keep the bridge,” said Anketell.
In 1991, Red Deer city council passed a bylaw designating the rail bridge as a Municipal Historic Resource. Two years later, the bridge was designated as a Registered Provincial Historic site.
“It’s been a cornerstone of our community for the last 120 years. And by doing this project, it’s going to remain a cornerstone of our community for at least this next 75 [years],” said Anketell.
“It keeps a piece of history around that reflects what Red Deer is, and started from.”