Building of the Alaska Highway - Taylor, British Columbia - British Columbia Heritage Markers on Waymarking.com

BUILDING OF THE ALASKA HIGHWAY & PEACE RIVER SUSPENSION BRIDGE
1942/1943
During the construction of the Alaska Highway the Peace River Suspension Bridge was the most difficult bridge to build. It was completed approximately nine months after construction began.

Taylor Historical and Archival Society
Transcribed from sign

The Peace River Bridge at Taylor is the Longest Bridge on the Alaska Highway. Opened in 1960, it is 649 meters (2,130 feet) long. The original suspension bridge, which opened on August 30, 1943, was essentially destroyed when the north tower was hit by a landslide and collapsed on October 16, 1957.

The original 2,275 foot suspension bridge, constructed in 1942-43 at a cost of $1,750,000, spanned the Peace River 37 miles north of Dawson Creek and forms part of the great Alaska Highway system. It was constructed by John A. Roebling’s Sons Company, under contract to the US Public Roads Administration (PRA). The company also built the Brooklyn Bridge and the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, among many others.

Built shortly after the collapse, the Official Opening of this bridge took place on July 9, 1960. Comprised of five individual deck truss spans, the five spans are supported by two concrete piers in the Peace River, one concrete pier on each bank and concrete abutments at each end.



Taylor, British Columbia

Taylor is in the Peace River region of beautiful British Columbia. It has approximately 1,375 residents in this small community. The town was named after Donald Herbert Taylor. It is home to the World's Invitational Gold Panning Championships held the first week in August. 2021 marks the 49th annual event, with a parade and other festivities. At the Lone wolf Golf Course is the World's Largest Golf Ball.

Type of Marker: Cultural Type of Sign: British Columbia Tourism Sign Describe the parking that is available nearby: Parking lot What Agency placed the marker?: Taylor Historical and Archival Society

Visit Instructions:
When entering a new log for visiting a waymark please provide a picture of your visit to the location and if you have an interesting alternate area or sign photo include that.

Please include any thoughts or historic information about the area that the marker may represent.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.