BRIDGE COSTING $8,000,000

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 June 1936, Page 4

BRIDGE COSTING $8,000,000

TO SPAN VANCOUVER HARBOUR

Bellowing the initiative of her California rival, San Francisco, whose stately bridges now span the Golden Gate and the Bay, the Canadian metropolis on the Pacific Coast, Vancouver, is to have its own big bridge across the harbour entrance.

Final approval has been given by the Canadian Government for construction of what will be the tallest suspension bridge in the British Empire across the First Narrows to connect the city with the north shore hinterland. The cost, approximately .$8,000,000, is being borne entirely by British financial interests headed by Lord Southborough. It is expected that the engineers planning lhe bridge will be in a position to have tenders for construction called some lime in September, and the bridge will be lead}' for use within three years.

The bridge will be 209 feet high and 1500 feet long. It will be the longest bridge of its kind in Canada. Because there was some uncertainty as to whether such a structure would interfere with navigation, the Canadian Government, at first declined to approve the project. New plans have been drawn, however, that provide adequate safeguards. The bridge will effect a radical alteration in the appearance of the entrance to Vancouver harbour, as the approach to the span from Vancouver will be through scenic Stanley Park, famolis the world over for its natural beauty. The steel span will be strung from Prospect Point, a high promontory overlooking the Lion’s Gate at the entrance to the harbour, and on the north shore the approach will be built high above the present ground level to connect up with a new residential area, that has been developed at a cost of several million dollars 2000 feet above sea level.