20 years

Tags

Bridge, Canada., Confederation bridge, Jean Mueller, PEI, transport

Today 31 May 2017 marks the twentieth anniversary of the opening of the Confederation Bridge linking the mainland  of Canada to PEI. The construction of the bridge required a special amendment to the Canadian Constitution because it involved the clauses which allowed PEI at the time a colony to join Confederation. The Island Government had a special condition that in joining in 1873 they would get financing for the railway on the Island and also a ferry service paid for, operation and maintenance, by the Federal Government. A special referendum was held and 60% of the Islanders voted in favour of the construction of the bridge and the end of train service on the Island.

Construction of the 12.3 Km sea bridge over the Abegweit channel of the Strait of Northumberland took place between 1993-1997 at a cost of $1.3 Billion dollars. The architect was Frenchman Jean Mueller who developed a new technique of pre-cast concrete for such a construction making it a marvel of engineering, the longest bridge over sea water locked in ice in winter.

the footing of the bridge on the sea bed

 

The bridge under construction around 1995.

The bridge in Winter ice, this is when storms are at their worst with 100Km winds being frequent, but you can still cross with a private car.

What it looks like when driving across at the middle section point

The opening of the bridge was a very big deal for PEI and in the years that followed saw an increase in investments and business, day trips are now common to the Island, we are only 2 hours away from Moncton and 3 hours from Halifax, it put an end to the isolation and made going to and from New Brunswick or Nova Scotia much simpler and faster. What was lost was the adventure of the ferry service.

From my home in Charlottetown I am at 35 minutes from the bridge going West. The sticking point to this day is the toll to use the bridge at 46$ return. It is believed that in 2036 the toll will be removed once the contract with the private firm maintaining the bridge ends.

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The bridge

Tags

Bridge, Canada., Confederation, PEI

Here are some photos of this marvellous bridge a wonder of engineering in the XXth Century. The Confederation Bridge built between 1993-1997 for one billion dollars over the Northumberland Strait, connecting the continent to Prince Edward Island. There is also a ferry service but not in Winter due to ice, difficult windy conditions that can reach on some days upwards of 100 Km per hour and high waves. It is truly one of the wonders of Canada.

Jean M. Müller (1925-2005) was the engineer/architect of this marvel. In 1951 he became the chief engineer of the Freyssinet Company and moved to the United States where he began constructing single and multiple span bridges. During this period Muller invented the technique of match-casting. His match-casting innovation was first used with dry joints on the single span Shelton Bridge in upstate New York. The technique was further developed using epoxy on the joints along with pre-cast concrete segmental box-girder technology, which was applied in 1962 on the Choisy-le-Roi Bridge extending over the Seine River in Paris, France. In 1955 he began working for Campenon Bernard in Paris, France, where he worked with large pre-stressed concrete projects. When he returned to Florida, he joined Eugene Figg and formed Figg and Muller Engineers in 1978. He also designed in 1997, one of the greatest engineering project in Canada, known as the Confederation Bridge connecting over the Gulf of St-Lawrence on a distance of 12.5 Km the Province of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Muller ended his career in 2000 after working as technical director for 11 years at J. Muller International.

 

Winter ice in the Gulf 

In the Summer time, thousands of people participate in the Terry Fox Marathon against cancer by running from the continent to the island.

Yes you can swim across if you so wish from Cape Tormentine. There is a Club who promotes it.

http://www.soloswims.com/MOWS.htm

From Cape Jourimain, New-Brunswick to Borden-Carleton in PEI.

For those of you who like to fly there are flights to Charlottetown, the Capital.

You can just see Jessica Fletcher arriving from Cabot Cove.

Charlottetown Airport YYG seen from the air.

Oscar Claude Monet (1840-1926)

Tags

Argenteuil, Bridge, France, Impressionism, Monet, NGC, Seine, Thames

The National Gallery of Canada http://www.gallery.ca has just opened a new exhibit entitled ”Bridges to Modernity” on paintings by Monet done between 1872-1878 while he lived with his growing family in Argenteuil a suburb of Paris on the Seine river. This is years from his move to Giverney where he will live later in life.

By the dates we have a young painter, a young Monet before becoming famous and also the dates 1872-1878 are crucial years just after the Franco-Prussian which France lost with devastating consequences, loosing Alsace-Lorraine to the new rising power of a unified German Empire proclaimed at the end of that war in the Palace of Versailles.

Following the war, the French Empire under Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon collapse. France slipped into a terrible civil war devastating Paris and seeing score of Parisians killed by a French Army gone wild, Tuileries Palace was burnt to the grown and so were scores of other public buildings like the Paris City Hall.

At first Monet fled to London where he will paint the bridges of the Thames river and then returning to France will settle in Argenteuil well outside Paris and will paint the bridges being rebuilt over the Seine river.

Railway and trains and train bridges are a fairly new phenomenon at the time and impressive engineering work also created a lot of interest. This exhibit shows the devastation on infrastructure of this war and the re-building that took place and the return to a normal life. The colours and composition are very interesting and already shows what will come to be known as Impressionism, which is defined as a personal reflexion and impressions of the artist on his surroundings.

Railway bridge at Argenteuil  

Houses of Parliament on the Thames river 

Waterloo bridge with the industrial area of Southwark on the Thames

From the balcony of his London hotel room overlooking the Thames, Monet could see Waterloo Bridge if he faced to his left. He worked on this subject through the afternoon and after dinner.  In this painting the morning mist partially conceals the industrial landscape of the opposite riverbank. So once again, the real subject becomes the atmospheric variations of the London environment. 

At the end of the exhibit we have this camera view live from the Bank street bridge over the Rideau Canal in Ottawa.

It really is a beautiful exhibit by a master and to this day a much loved artist. See it until 15 February 2016.