Simon Fraser Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Simon Fraser Bridge is a deck truss bridge
on Highway 97
, spanning the Fraser River
in Prince George, British Columbia
. It was originally a two-lane bridge, and was completed in 1963. It carries approximately 22,000 vehicles per day http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2006TRAN0040-001400.htm. In 2009, a 50 million dollar project to twin the bridge was completed http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/cariboo_connector/SFB/cams.htm. The new bridge carrying two lanes of northbound traffic is approximately 390 metres in length http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id32711, whereas the two lanes of southbound traffic are directed across the original bridge.
The bridge was named to honour the fur-trader and explorer Simon Fraser
, who established Prince George, and who descended the river from near this spot in 1805.
Truss bridge
A truss bridge is a bridge composed of connected elements which may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. Truss bridges are one of the oldest types of modern bridges...
on Highway 97
British Columbia provincial highway 97
Highway 97 is the longest continuously-numbered route in the Canadian province of British Columbia , running 2,081 km from the Canada/U.S. border at Osoyoos in the south to the British Columbia/Yukon border in the north at Watson Lake, Yukon. The route takes its number from U.S...
, spanning the Fraser River
Fraser River
The Fraser River is the longest river within British Columbia, Canada, rising at Fraser Pass near Mount Robson in the Rocky Mountains and flowing for , into the Strait of Georgia at the city of Vancouver. It is the tenth longest river in Canada...
in Prince George, British Columbia
Prince George, British Columbia
Prince George, with a population of 71,030 , is the largest city in northern British Columbia, Canada, and is known as "BC's Northern Capital"...
. It was originally a two-lane bridge, and was completed in 1963. It carries approximately 22,000 vehicles per day http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2006TRAN0040-001400.htm. In 2009, a 50 million dollar project to twin the bridge was completed http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/cariboo_connector/SFB/cams.htm. The new bridge carrying two lanes of northbound traffic is approximately 390 metres in length http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id32711, whereas the two lanes of southbound traffic are directed across the original bridge.
The bridge was named to honour the fur-trader and explorer Simon Fraser
Simon Fraser (explorer)
Simon Fraser was a fur trader and an explorer who charted much of what is now the Canadian province of British Columbia. Fraser was employed by the Montreal-based North West Company. By 1805, he had been put in charge of all the company's operations west of the Rocky Mountains...
, who established Prince George, and who descended the river from near this spot in 1805.