Granville Street Bridge

The Granville Street Bridge or Granville Bridge is an eight-lane fixed cantilever/truss bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia, carrying Granville Street between Downtown Vancouver southwest and the Fairview neighborhood. It spans False Creek and is 27.4 m (90 ft) above Granville Island. The bridge is part of Highway 99.

Granville Street Bridge
The modern Granville Street Bridge
Coordinates49.272551°N 123.133049°W / 49.272551; -123.133049
CarriesEight lanes of British Columbia Highway 99, Granville Street, pedestrians, and bicycles
CrossesFalse Creek
LocaleVancouver
Maintained byCity of Vancouver
Preceded byGranville Street Bridge (second)
Characteristics
DesignCantilever/truss bridge
Total length1,171 m (0.73 mi)
Clearance below27.4 m (90 ft)
History
OpenedFebruary 4, 1954
Statistics
Daily traffic65,000
Location

History

First bridge 1889

The first Granville Bridge opened in 1889, crossing from Beach Ave to 3rd Ave and was part of the scheme to clear Granville Street through to the North Arm of the Fraser River, where a bridge crossed to the farming community of Eburne. Granville Street was called Centre Street south of False Creek (until 1907) and the new slit through the forest heading south was initially known as North Arm Road. The 2,400 metre long, low timber trestle bridge opened on January 4th, costing $16,000 to build, and was designed by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).  It had a swingspan near the downtown side, was wide enough for two wagons, had a four-foot-wide separated path on the west side for pedestrians, and was barely above high tide – children swam from it in the summer.[1]

Two years after it was built, the CPR cleared the Fairview Slopes and opened them for settlement; the street railway company (predecessor of the BC Electric) ran a single-track on a trestle on the east side of the bridge for the “Fairview Belt Line” which connected Granville Street, 9th Avenue (now Broadway) and Main Street with downtown, hoping it would help spur development, which it did.

Second bridge 1909

The second bridge was completed in 1909. It was a longer, medium-level steel bridge with a through truss swing span. During World War I, on April 29, 1915, a fire broke out on the bridge that was thought to be an arson attack. Four Germans were arrested.

Third bridge 1954

On February 4, 1954, the current Granville Street Bridge, costing $16.5 million, opened. A million cars would cross over the bridge in its first month. The city of Vancouver funded the bridge itself as Mayor Frederick Hume said "no formal assistance given by any other government body."

The eight-lane structure was constructed on the same alignment as the first bridge while steel plate girders salvaged from the second bridge made barges for constructing the foundations of the Oak Street Bridge.

The first "civilian" to drive over the 1954 bridge was the same woman who was first to drive over the second bridge in 1909. She had been widowed between the two openings, and so had a different name. Both times she was at the wheel of a brand-new Cadillac.

Recent improvements to the bridge include increasing its earthquake resistance, and installing higher curbs and median barriers.

Future

In December 2017, Vancouver City Council approved a plan to remove the "Granville Loops" - a pair of cloverleaf off-ramps connecting the bridge with Pacific Street - and open up the land to redevelopment.[2]

The Granville Street underwent a seismic retrofit that began in late 2018 and was completed in September 2021.[3][4]

In January 2019, Vancouver City Council announced a plan to improve pedestrian and cyclist access to the bridge from the surrounding neighbourhoods by creating a new separated bike and walking path located in the centre of the bridge roadway.[5] The plan was opened up for public comment in April 2019[6] with the project approved.[7] Construction on the pedestrian and bicycle lanes began in February 2023 and is expected to take two years to complete.[8]

  • Original bridge in 1888
    Original bridge in 1888
  • Second bridge under construction, c. 1908
  • The Granville Street Bridge from the Burrard Street Bridge.
    The Granville Street Bridge from the Burrard Street Bridge.
  • Southwest view along Bridge into city centre, Winter 2006
    Southwest view along Bridge into city centre, Winter 2006
  • View of downtown.
    View of downtown.
  • The modern Granville Street Bridge, with downtown and the North Shore mountains in the distance.
    The modern Granville Street Bridge, with downtown and the North Shore mountains in the distance.

See also

Resources

References
  1. "Granville St. Bridge • Vancouver Heritage Foundation". Vancouver Heritage Foundation. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  2. "Vancouver City Council approves $18-million plan to demolish Granville Loops | Urbanized". dailyhive.com. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  3. "Granville Street Bridge undergoing $34-million seismic upgrade". dailyhive.com. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  4. Tenpenny, John (September 1, 2021). "Seismic upgrades and repairs start on Cambie Street Bridge". ReNewCANADA. Vancouver, British Columbia. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  5. "City Council approves next steps for Granville Bridge bike and walking path". dailyhive.com. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  6. "Public consultation launched for Granville Bridge's new bike and walking path". dailyhive.com. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
  7. Chan, Kenneth (March 24, 2022). "City of Vancouver moving forward with Granville Bridge loops demolition this year". Daily Hive. Vancouver, British Columbia. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  8. Chan, Kenneth (February 8, 2023). "Construction begins on new walking and cycling path on Granville Bridge". Daily Hive. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
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