| Building the Bridge to P.E.I. |
| Harry Thurstone Photography by Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay |
The delicate profile of Confederation Bridge is
deceiving; it was built to last. The longest bridge in the
world over ice-covered waters, the Bridge was an
engineering feat that challenged the best technical minds
of the day and pushed Canadian technology to the
forefront of cold ocean engineering. It was Strait
Crossing Joint Venture, a consortium of Canadian,
Dutch and French companies, who took on the challenge
of building a fixed link, 12.9 km long, over the waters
made treacherous in winter by massive ice floes, gale
force winds and surging tides. It had to last for 100
years.
The opening of the bridge on May 31, 1997, fulfilled a
promise made to Islanders when they joined
Confederation - to maintain a continuous means of
communication between PEI and the mainland. The
fixed link, as the Bridge has come to be called, is a
major boost to commerce and tourism. But what effect it
will have on the fragile Island and its traditional "down
home" culture only time will tell. Meanwhile, the S-
shaped span of Confederation Bridge beckons with a
fascinating appeal to those "come from aways" to cross
over the blue waters of Northumberland Strait and, as
the tourist ads say, "come play on my Island".
Photographed by Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay and
written by Harry Thurston, this books tells the Bridge’s
tale - from end to end.
deceiving; it was built to last. The longest bridge in the
world over ice-covered waters, the Bridge was an
engineering feat that challenged the best technical minds
of the day and pushed Canadian technology to the
forefront of cold ocean engineering. It was Strait
Crossing Joint Venture, a consortium of Canadian,
Dutch and French companies, who took on the challenge
of building a fixed link, 12.9 km long, over the waters
made treacherous in winter by massive ice floes, gale
force winds and surging tides. It had to last for 100
years.
The opening of the bridge on May 31, 1997, fulfilled a
promise made to Islanders when they joined
Confederation - to maintain a continuous means of
communication between PEI and the mainland. The
fixed link, as the Bridge has come to be called, is a
major boost to commerce and tourism. But what effect it
will have on the fragile Island and its traditional "down
home" culture only time will tell. Meanwhile, the S-
shaped span of Confederation Bridge beckons with a
fascinating appeal to those "come from aways" to cross
over the blue waters of Northumberland Strait and, as
the tourist ads say, "come play on my Island".
Photographed by Wayne Barrett and Anne MacKay and
written by Harry Thurston, this books tells the Bridge’s
tale - from end to end.
|
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHERS Anne MacKay Wayne Barrett |
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ RELATED INTEREST |
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| Cover: The completion of Confederation Bridge signals the dawn of a new era in Prince Edward Island. |
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