Collapse

The bridge is immense, not only in length and weight but in width. At 67 feet wide, it can accommodate two sets of railway tracks, two sets of streetcar tracks and two roadways.

It took three tries and cost 89 lives, but the city of Quebec was determined to compete with provincial rival Montreal for commercial rail traffic in the late 19th century. The solution was a rail bridge across the St. Lawrence River requiring a single cantilever span 1,800 feet long - the longest ever attempted. 

The workforce consisted of less than 100 men, yet they finished construction in just 94 days. Such speed was possible due to the elimination of scaffolding. Instead, iron rods were used to support construction of the trusses between the towers, and workers moved back and forth across the rods. A dangerous venture, yet no workers were seriously injured.