12th St. Bridge Renewal

From 1892 a ferry service transported people to and from St. George’s island to the town of Calgary, until the construction of a footbridge in 1900. The island is one of the 3 Bow River Islands that were first leased by Calgary town council for the development of parks in 1887. The islands became popular as a weekend playground with many weekend picnic parties and recreational activities.

By 1908 a Parker Camelback Truss bridge was built to accommodate the increased traffic with the popularity of the island park. The skeletal truss bridge spans crossing the deeper north section of the river. There was a wood trestle on the south end connecting the bridge to the island over the shallower section of the river that was replaced later with an open deck concrete bridge span.

Built by the Algoma Steel Bridge Company from Winnipeg, Manitoba at a cost of $25000, the 12^th St. bridge is one of several bridges built by this company in the Calgary area. It was designed for pedestrians and horse and buggy traffic, several years before the first motor vehicles were licensed in Calgary in 1912.

An old Elbow River Bridge was moved at the same time to the north side of the island which provided a new gateway from Inglewood to the new communities of Riverside and Bridgeland and the new Calgary General Hospital. With the new era of transportation, the bridge became outdated quickly with traffic congestion. It has held up well with the amount of traffic it has endured and surpassing its 100-year lifespan.

Unfortunately, the iconic historic bridge has deteriorated beyond repair and with the 2013 flood damage it has been slated for removal this spring. Coinciding with Canada’s Sesquicentennial a new better 2 lane bridge to better accommodate the increased traffic flow from 9 Ave. to Memorial Drive with pedestrian and cycling corridors is to be completed by the fall of 2017.

The City settled on an arched steel box girder design for the new 12^th St. Bridge after considering 3 different concepts. It was designed with minimal maintenance in mind for the next 100 years and able to withstand a 1-in-200-year flood.