Building a bridge: the story of St-Albert's bridges

The first means of communication between the two banks of River 9 was a ferry installed around 1875. As there weren’t many cars or people to transship, it was in existence until the first bridge was built, some five or six years later. The arrival of the first parish priest in 1878, who was to give a tremendous boost to the development of St. Albert, was to cause the disappearance of this ferry and the idyllic scenes of its washerwomen. Legend has it that it was the first parish priest, Mr. Albert Philion, who pushed for the construction of the first bridge in the winter of 1880-1881. Here’s how he put it to Mgr Duhamel in a letter dated October 25, 1880: “If we want to have a bridge in St-Albert now that the money has been voted, I’ll have to do most of the work myself. I am going to see the Reeve (mayor) Mr. Casselman to discuss it with him”.

This first bridge was not to be used for more than four years. Built too close to the water, it was swept away by the ice in April 1885, the water having risen that year to eighteen feet above the average level. On the morning of the disaster, which occurred on a Sunday, as it became clear that the strong current and ice were threatening the bridge dangerously, the parish priest said a low mass and dispatched his men to the shore to do their utmost to avert disaster. Cables were attached to the bridge and held from the shore, but nothing was done. All that could be done was to pull the bridge over to the right bank when the waves tore it from its foundations. They immediately set to work building a second bridge, again of wood, but this time on higher pillars. A collection of private donations was organized to hasten reconstruction.

By April 21, 1885, $150 had been collected. On the same day, Father Philion wrote to the Ontario government for assistance. He also spoke of organizing a lottery for the benefit of this enterprise. It is not known whether this latter project was carried out. However, construction of the new bridge must have been well advanced, if not completed, when Mr. Philion was appointed parish priest of Embrun at the end of September 1885. The contract to build the new bridge had been awarded to Messrs. Lapointe dit Godard, of Lafrenière, and Faulkner, who had a store on the village’s small street, the one that runs south, near where the cheese factory now stands. Mr. Faulkner is said to have gone bankrupt as a result of this contract. The sad fate of the first bridge had served as a harsh lesson. So the second bridge was built to withstand the onslaught of debacle. It remained in existence for some fifteen years.

In 1901, it was replaced by an iron bridge. On the feast day of the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary (October 27, 1901), at the end of the parish mass in St. Albert, the parish priest Lyonnais blessed, with the prescribed ceremonies, the new iron bridge built over the Nation River. The engineer was Mr. James Lewis. Mr. Morris Chaever was then reeve (mayor) of Cambridge township.

In 1928, this bridge was judged inadequate for the needs of a road. It was therefore replaced by another iron bridge, the 4th Bridge. The latter was built during the summer, making the use of a ferry necessary once again in the meantime. (The bridge was inaugurated on a Saturday evening at the end of August 1928. Curé Chénier was the first to drive his car over it.

Finally, in the summer of 1982, a new bridge, the 5th, still with a steel structure, was built. A portable bridge kept traffic moving during construction, which was completed on November 1, 1982. The “L.E. Brisson” bridge, erected by the United Counties of Prescott-Russell, was built at a cost of $1,011,264.25.

It should be noted, however, that the L.E. Brisson Bridge, today an iconic feature of our community, has an intriguing history. It was built at a time when citizens were voicing their opposition to an iron bridge. The bridge sparked lively debate. Residents at the time categorically rejected the idea of this type of bridge and wanted a cement bridge instead.

Roger Cayer, St-Albert, 125 ans de vie, 1999, p.13 to 15