New Westminster Bridge

Fraser River Swing Bridge (below), as seen from the Skybridge.

The New Westminster Bridge (also known as the New Westminster Rail Bridge (NSRW) or the Fraser River Swing Bridge) crosses the Fraser River and connects New Westminster with Surrey, British Columbia, in Canada.

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Location in Metro Vancouver

The New Westminster Bridge was constructed in 1904 and was originally built with two decks.

The lower deck was used for rail traffic, and the upper deck was used for automobile traffic. With the opening of the Pattullo Bridge in 1937, the upper deck was removed and the bridge was converted exclusively for rail use.

The toll for the upper bridge was 25 cents and created quite an uproar for farmers who found out quickly that by taking their livestock across on foot would cost them a quarter a head but if they put them in a truck it cost a quarter for the whole load.

The bridge was the preferred method of transport across the Fraser until the Pattullo Bridge opened in 1937. Prior to that to cross that part of the river meant using the K De K ferry which would dock at the present day Brownsville location which is part of the Bridgeview neighbourhood of Surrey.

The bridge is owned by the Government of Canada, operated and maintained by the Canadian National Railway, with the Southern Railway of British Columbia (SRYBC), Canadian Pacific Railway, and BNSF Railway having track usage rights, as do Via Rail's The Canadian (to Toronto) and Amtrak's Cascades passenger trains (to Seattle).

See also

• List of crossings of the Fraser River
• List of bridges in Canada
• List of bridges

External links

• Archival photos of the bridge from the New Westminster Public Library