Bank Street Canal Bridge - Ottawa, Ontario
Posted by: Weathervane
N 45° 23.820 W 075° 41.116
18T E 446364 N 5027281
The Bank Street Canal Bridge spans the Rideau Canal and is located in Ottawa, Ontario.
Waymark Code: WMDDJC
Location: Ontario, Canada
Date Posted: 12/30/2011
Views: 21
There were two other bridges crossing over the Rideau Canal before the Bank Street Canal bridge was built in 1912. The first, a wooden swing bridge, was constructed in 1866 and subsequently replaced by a low-level truss steel swing bridge. The 1912 bridge was revovated in in 1993.
The Bank Street Canal bridge rests on six vaults, each following the outline of an elliptical arch. The vaults become higher and longer in span as one moves from the edges towards the middle. The bridge rises to its highest point above the third vault from the south as the outline of the rise follows an asymmetrical elliptical path.
The vaults rest on large piers. Pilasters topped by metal lamp posts articulate the spandrels between the vaults. Only two of the bridge’s six vaults, the second and third from the south, cross over the Rideau Canal itself. The southernmost vault, which is located along the bridge’s Old Ottawa South side, crosses over Colonel By Drive. Before Colonel By Drive was built during the 1960s, the canal extended underneath the vault, and next to it were the railroad tracks that led to the old railroad station located near the northern end of the canal. The second and third vaults from the north cross over Queen Elizabeth Drive. The arched openings of the northernmost vault originally were shuttered with wood panels and the enclosed space was used as a storage area.
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