Finlay Bridge

Finlay Bridge is a vehicle and foot bridge across the South Saskatchewan River that connects the Riverside north side and downtown south side of Medicine Hat. It officially opened on May 14, 1908. The bridge is named for William T. Finlay, who served as Mayor of Medicine Hat from 1900 to 1902, represented Medicine Hat in the Territorial Government from 1902 to 1905, and became Medicine Hat's first representative in the Alberta Legislature from 1905 to 1910. As MLA and Minister of Agriculture, he advocated many regional improvements, most notably the bridge. Constructed of steel, concrete, and wood, the 274 m span has abutments on each bank, four concrete piers, and five steel arches. As originally built, it was 4.88 m wide, with a wooden deck and a wooden sidewalk along the west side of traffic. At the time of construction, it was the longest steel bridge in Alberta and the second longest across the South Saskatchewan River. Until the Trans-Canada Bridge opened in 1955, it formed part of the original Trans-Canada Highway and was the only river crossing for traffic within 145 km in either direction. Joseph Carbert served as the City of Medicine Hat Superintending Engineer, John Chalmers as Chief Engineer, and Mr. McIntyre as Engineer, and the contractor was the Canadian Bridge Company Limited of Walkerville, Ontario. Although Medicine Hat's two banks had been connected by a rail bridge since 1883 and by a small ferry service originally operated by the North West Mounted Police, Finlay Bridge linked Medicine Hat to the rest of the new province of Alberta.

Alberta · Canada