Welcome to Saint John Harbour Bridge.com
Friday February 3rd 2012 --
Welcome Back! The website is now complete.
The Tolls have been removed, and the construction has been completed.
On April 13, 1962 the New Brunswick legislature passed an act to establish a Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority that would build, maintain and operate a toll bridge crossing Saint John Harbour. Contracts for the four main piers were signed in September 1965 and the crossing opened on August 17, 1968 as part of the Saint John Throughway project.
The bridge's location proved quite controversial as it prevents high-clearance vessels from navigating into the upper part of the harbour. Earlier proposals had called for the Saint John Throughway and its bridge to be built north of the Reversing Falls gorge. Construction of the bridge also drew to a close the status of Navy Island as an island within the Inner Harbour.
The bridge carries 4 lanes of Route 1 across 3 spans, measuring 125 m, 250 m, and 125 m. The bridge was a cooperative project of the federal, provincial and municipal governments.
The Harbour Bridge Authority increased the cash-toll from $0.25 to $0.50 for regular commuter traffic beginning January, 2007. This is the first rate increase since the bridge was built.
On November 26, 2010 Stephen Harper and David Alward officially announced the toll for the bridge will be eliminated. The agreement wipes away the $22.6 million dollar debt and the Federal Government is willing to pay for half of the $35 million dollar structural repairs.[1]
As of April 1, 2011, just before 4pm, the tolls were abolished.
*Source - Wikipedia