The Saint John Harbour Bridge | Le pont du port de Saint John

English: , The St. John River, with its long interior waterways, deep and sheltered harbour, and connection to the oceans of the world, is a natural highway for those travelling with the flow of the river. However, for those seeking to cross it, especially at its mouth, they face very high tides and swift currents. The reality of these barriers became clear in 1783, when some Loyalists (American supporters of the British during the American Revolution) settled on one side of the river mouth, while their countrymen settled on the other. , However, the settlement on the east side, Parrtown, and the settlement on the west, Carleton, were soon jointly incorporated by Royal Charter, in 1785, as the City of Saint John, creating Canada's first incorporated city. At just the third meeting of the new city's council, on May 26th 1785, the problem of connecting the city was addressed, and licenses were issued for two ferrymen. , For almost two centuries following, the problem of crossing the river was addressed by a succession of harbour ferries, and bridges upstream at Reversing Falls. All of these solutions, while each was an improvement upon its predecessor, still created a bottleneck to commerce and travel. The problem was finally solved, after many decades of debate and review, with the creation of the Saint John Harbour Bridge Authority in 1962, who oversaw the construction of the new bridge. Begun in late 1965, it was completed less than three years later, ahead of schedule! The need for the bridge is easily demonstrated by the increase in crossings. When the bridge opened there were 150,000 crossings annually, whereas crossings now exceed 10,000,000. , In March 1974, the Saint John Harbour Bridge was awarded a certificate of excellence for its superior standard of design amongst the most impressive contemporary trademarks by Top Symbols and Trademarks of the World. ,