From the first bridge, built in 1891 to the present structure, completed in 1984, the bridges at Enderby have carried people and goods across the Shuswap River. The first bridge at Enderby was a wooden structure resting on nine wooden piers, stretching 280 feet long. Completed and opened in May 1891 amidst criticism and complaints about the approaches.
Since that time no less than six more bridges were built in 1905, 1920, the 1930s, 1942, 1974 and 1982, before the present Len Bawtree Bridge was dedicated on June 14, 1984.
The new steel and concrete bridge is a five span, continuous steel structure 152.5 metres long with an 8.54 metre roadway and two 1.8 metre sidewalks. Construction began April 5, 1983 and took a year to complete at a cost of $2,514,500. Piles were driven to a depth of 105 to 130 feet and then filled with concrete. The trestles of the old bridge were taken down in November 1983 and the remainder of the bridge gradually dismantled.
Over 200 people attended the official opening ceremony on June 14, 1984. The new bridge was named Bawtree Bridge in honour of the Bawtree family, early pioneers in the area. Former MLA Len Bawtree was involved in the early stages of the bridge proposal and was a special guest for the afternoon.
Text from a Historical Marker relating a bit of the story of the bridge follows. The marker will be found alongside the river trail about 65 metres (210 ft) north on the trail from the west end of the bridge.
THE BRIDGE
The first bridge, a wooden structure, was built in 1893. It allowed the settlers in North Enderby and Ashton Creek to easily access the commercial centre of Enderby and the newly completed railway.
The bridge was replaced in 1905 by a bigger higher and wider span. This was a great improvement as two wagons could now pass without difficulty. A lift span on part of the bridge closest to Enderby allowed boats to travel up stream.
This bridge lasted until 1920 when another stronger wooden structure was built. It was a Howe Truss-type bridge similar to the one that was a familiar sight here and throughout British Columbia from the mid-1940s until the mid-1980s. Without paved roads or adequate drainage on the bridge deck, it didn't take long for the horse and wagon traffic to rot the wooden timbers.
The next Howe Truss-type bridge was built in 1943. The increase in traffic, especially modern commercial log trucks, in the 1960s and 70s, created considerable pressure for a new bridge. Finally, the government decided to act when a piece of the wooden deck popped up under a school bus filled with students, disabling it. The bridge you see now was built in 1983