Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park
|
Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park
|
||
 Alexandra Bridge from 1926 |
||
| location | British Columbia (Canada) | |
| surface | 55 ha | |
| WDPA ID | 65085 | |
| Geographical location | 49 ° 42 ′ N , 121 ° 24 ′ W | |
|
||
| Setup date | July 26, 1984 | |
| administration | BC parks | |
The Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park is only 55-hectare provincial park south of the Canadian province of British Columbia . The park is on the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1 ), about 25 miles north of Hope in the Fraser Valley Regional District . At this point the highway crosses the Fraser River .
Although the name suggests otherwise, Alexandra Bridge is not in the park.
investment
The park lies partly on a narrow strip of land between the Trans-Canada Highway and the Fraser River. This part of the park is cut through by a railway line of the Canadian National Railway . The park then continues on the other side of the highway.
The park is a category III protected area ( natural monument ).
history
The park was established in 1984 and takes its name from the bridge of the same name. The bridge was named after Alexandra of Denmark , the wife of the later King Edward VII.
The park is located in the traditional hunting and settlement area of the Nlaka'pamux and the Stó: lō . Presumably they settled in the area around 9000 years ago. The First Nations still use the area for fishing in the Fraser River.
Today's Alexandra Bridge is not the first bridge at this point over the Fraser River. The first bridge built by Europeans was designed by Joseph William Trutch in 1863. Until then, travelers on the Cariboo Wagon Road had to cross the Fraser River here by boat. Although the bridge was built on behalf of the state, Joseph Trutch was allowed to collect a bridge toll as payment. However, this first wooden bridge only lasted until 1894. Then it was destroyed in a flood and completely demolished in 1912.
Years passed before a new bridge was built. It only began in the 1920s and was completed in 1926. This steel bridge was then used until the new motorway bridge was built in 1964, two kilometers further south on the Fraser River. The old bridge now stands at the northern end of the park. There is also a short stretch of the old Cariboo Wagon Road.
activities
The majority of visitors are travelers on the Trans-Canada Highway. The only attraction in the park is the old Alexandra Bridge.
The park is a so-called day-use park, which means that it has no parking spaces for campers and tents, but it has simple sanitary facilities.
Neighboring parks
The nearest parks to the north along Highway 1 are Nahatlatch Provincial Park and then Skihist Provincial Park . Heading south, the next park is Emory Creek Provincial Park .
See also
Web links
- Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park . In: BC Geographical Names (English)
- Alexandra Bridge Provincial Park . In: English language website of the park at BC Parks
- Information park on britishcolumbia.com (Engl.)
- Alexandra Bridge in the Canadian Register of Historic Places (Engl.)