Gribblenation

One of the vital links between the island of Montreal and its South Shore suburban communities, the 3.4 kilometer (2.11 mile) long Samuel de Champlain Bridge (or commonly known as the Champlain Bridge) carries Autoroutes 10, 15 and 20 across the St. Lawrence River between Nun's Island (Île des Sœurs) and Brossard. But the famed river crossing has a storied and tumultuous history, which over time has led to the construction of a replacement bridge. On August 17, 1955, George Marler, the Canadian Minister of Transport at the time, announced that a toll bridge would be built over Île des Sœurs to the South Shore. At the time, the National Harbours Board (a since-departed Canadian federal agency) was put in charge of construction of the Champlain Bridge project, as well as the federal portions of Autoroute 15 and the Bonaventure Expressway. At first, the bridge was called the "Nun's Island Bridge," since it crossed over Île Saint-Paul, which was also known as Île des...

The Powerscourt Covered Bridge, also known as the Percy Covered Bridge, is Canada's oldest covered bridge. Not only is it the oldest covered bridge in Canada, it is the only known example of a McCallum inflexible arched truss bridge still in existence. The covered bridge was built in 1861 over the Chateauguay River on First Concession Road near Hinchinbrooke, Quebec, just north of the border with New York State. The Powerscourt Covered Bridge is the only non-railroad bridge in the world using the McCallum inflexible arched truss design. This design was developed by Daniel McCallum, who was an engineer for the New York and Erie Railroad, and superintendent of railroads for the Union side in the Civil War. The techniques in building the two span Powerscourt Covered Bridge was otherwise used exclusively in the construction of railroad bridges. Because of the Powerscourt Covered Bridge's unique place in history, it was designated a National Historic Site in 1984 and the bridge wa...