The Evolution of a Bridge

In 1883 the CPR and its business partner, the Canada North-West Land Company, spent more than $14,000 in the new Regina town site digging a well, grading five streets, and building a dam, the first control structure on Pile of Bones creek. Crossing the water between Angus and Albert Streets about one block west of the present day Albert Memorial Bridge, the dam was built of three-inch planks banked with earth and needed constant repair. The combination dam and fourteen foot wide bridge provided only a single lane of traffic, but it did provide a way across the creek. In 1901 flooding caused extensive damage to the bridge, after which repairs were made and a spillway was constructed to help prevent similar flood damage. In 1908 the Provincial government decided to build a new distinctive arch style concrete bridge and dam on Albert Street and engaged the Parsons Construction Company to carry out the work, including retaining walls and the use of horse drawn scrapers to level and clean the contiguous lake bed. That was a busy year on what was then known as Wascana Creek, with crews working on the new Albert Street Bridge, the lake, the retaining structures, and farther upstream to the southeast on the new Broad Street Bridge. In 1930 the Albert Memorial Bridge was constructed. Its 256 metre length and Egyptian style reflected the influence of the 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb, with obelisk-like towers at each entry, lotus flowers and papyrus plants on the terra-cotta balusters and lamp posts, images of Queen Victoria on the entry towers, and buffalo heads on the lamp posts, reflecting Regina's growth from Pile of Bones to the Queen City. Named after Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, the Albert Memorial Bridge was refurbished in 1988 at a cost of $1.4 million.

Saskatchewan · Canada