History: Page 3    Back   Next
 
The Bridge
 
Though planning and preparation began as early as 1911, in April 1913 the 'community' or C.C.U.B. embarked on probably its most industrious task of the day - to build a bridge across the Kootenay River.

An architectural firm of J. R. Grant, a Vancouver consulting firm was hired to design the bridge and provide the plans. Over 40 Doukhobor men from nearby villages worked on this bridge for seven months. These men worked for no pay - as was the communal way.

 
Bridge plans:. The suspension span is 331 feet in length. At each end of the bridge, concrete towers rise 48 feet above the road bed. The towers are approximately five feet by ten feet at the bottom and taper to two feet by four feet at the top. The tower legs are connected by cross-members also made of concrete. The towers sit on a massive base of concrete about 12 feet thick and 34 feet wide. Four two-inch diameter cables run the length of the bridge on each side, and at the top of the tower, pass over a saddle supported on rollers.
 

The Brilliant Suspension Bridge opening, October 1913
  

In October of 1913, after a cost of $60,000 which the 'community' itself paid, the bridge opened to traffic. The BC government later subsidized $20,000 of that amount, leaving the Doukhobors to pay 2/3 of the construction costs.

Despite sociological and economical strains of the era, the C.C.U.B. enjoyed prosperous times. All this ended however in 1938 when the Sun Life Assurance Company and National Trust foreclosed on the enterprise, and the provincial government stepped in and paid off the two loans thus becoming the new 'owner' of the enterprise. In doing so, all lands and assets (including the Brilliant Suspension Bridge) became the property of the Province of British Columbia.
 

The Brilliant Suspension Bridge operated functionally to 1966 until a new bridge was constructed to serve the growing needs of the nearby communities and airport access, which was important to Castlegar's growing economic development.

Once the new bridge was constructed, the access to the old bridge was eventually cut off, and the bridge then sat dormant for many years. In the 1970s it was discovered that the department of highways planned to demolish this invaluable structure. Past Mayor of Castlegar, Mike O'Connor tells how, in a truly eleventh-hour plea to the Provincial Government, the bridge was saved from almost certain demise by appearing personally in Victoria, showing historical cause as to why the bridge shouldn't be destroyed; the provincial government relented and demolition was staved off.

In 1991 a Working Group was assembled to explore the possibilities of restoring the bridge and finally, in 1995, after years and years of perseverance and persistence by certain members within the community, the bridge was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Today plans are underway to restore the bridge as a 'walking bridge' (not for automobile traffic), which will be documented within this site.

* There is an excellent document in Archives written by Cyril Ozeroff as a term paper in 1965 in which he interviews his uncle Peter A. Reiben - one of the men that worked on the bridge. (Highly recommended reading).

** For more photos of the bridge visit the Gallery.
 
History: Page 3    Back   Next
This site is maintained by the Brilliant Bridge Restoration Committee c/o Castlegar & District Recreation Department, Regional District of Central Kootenay, 2101 6th Avenue, Castlegar, B.C. V1N 3B2 e-mail: Administration or Webmaster. No photos may be used without prior written consent.