Canadian Northern Railway Bridge cache leads you to the concrete pylons that reminds us of the first bridge in Fort Saskatchewan.
The concrete pylons in the river mark the site of the first bridge at Fort Saskatchewan. When the railway drew close to town in 1904, enterprising citizens asked if the bridge across the North Saskatchewan could carry road traffic as well as trains. The Canadian Northern Railway’s response showed they were enterprising, too. They would build a dual-purpose bridge if the town would pay the extra cost and sweeten the deal with a free site for the station and land they could subdivide for sale. In the end, the Province paid the extra $50,000, and the federal government transferred the land. A temporary bridge was finished 12 days before railway construction reached the river.
Watch out for the barb wire fence!