1943-1957+1960 Peace River Bridges at Taylor, BC

(Satellite)

The Alaska Highway uses this crossing.

researchgate

Alaska Highway Bridge (1943-1957) over the Peace River (photograph looking south-west). 

"At approximately 23:00 on 15 October 1957, the Alaska Highway was closed by movement of the north anchor block of the Peace River highway suspension bridge, at Taylor, BC, Canada. The two north spans of the bridge collapsed thirteen hours later. There were no injuries."

 

OurAlakaHighway
"It was constructed by a famous American bridge building company, John A. Roebling’s Sons Company, under contract to the US Public Roads Administration (PRA)....When it opened in 1943 after only nine months of construction, it was the longest bridge on the Alaska Highway, measuring 647 m (2,130 feet) long....A car/truck ferry dealt with backed up traffic until the Pacific Great Eastern Railway gave permission to convert its rail bridge into a one-lane vehicular bridge. This stopgap measure was used during the two years it took to build a replacement. The new bridge, opened in 1960, still stands today."

Three of the photos from researchgate and from cgs that show the collapse:

1

2

3

Bridges Now and Then posted
The Peace River Suspension Bridge collapsed at Taylor, British Columbia, October 16, 1957. (Larry Evans)
David Cooper: Excellent illustration of the immense reserve of safety in steel structures. Here we have an "Ultimate limit state" (collapse) of the side span...but only the side span. The remainder has reached to and beyond any rational "Serviceability limit state"...but it still resolutely stands even though the towers (in particular) are grossly overstressed when compared with with design code allowable stress limits.

get2yes
"The Taylor Bridge was built in 1960 and is 721 metres long....Current traffic volume on Highway 97 between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John is approximately 7,500 vehicles per day, 30 per cent of which is commercial vehicle traffic."
bc
Engineering studies for a long term solution started in 2021.

bc_storymap, select The Five Concepts
The five concepts presented to the public for feedback:
1) Continue to maintain the existing bridge.
2) Extensively renew the existing bridge.
3) Replace the bridge with a 2-lane bridge that includes a bike path.
4) Replace the bridge with a 4-lane bridge.
5) Renew the existing bridge and build a 2-lane bridge with a bike path. The lanes on the old bridge would be wider because the pedestrian paths can be removed.
[My two cents: 7,500 vehicles/day doesn't warrant four lanes, but the lack of alternate routes in the area warrants the redundancy of two bridges, so I vote for the fifth option. It has the advantage of allowing traffic to flow freely while the existing bridge is renewed because the new bridge would be opened before the renovation. This should also make the renovation cheaper since the contractor doesn't have to worry about bridge closure rules.]

 

The fifth concept

engage

bc_storymap, select Gallery

The BC province is spending a lot of money on bridges and light-rail in the southern (urban) part, but this bridge is not even in the 10-year capital budget. [TerraceStandard and EnergeticCity]