r1 ge erng lsmantled on the Charlottetown srde.

In 1904 a steel bridge that had spanned the Miramichi River was pur— chased in Bathurst, New Brunswick. It was brought over in sections by barges and installed in 1905. Each span was floated in on scows and placed on piers. A centre draw span opened for ships, and a small house in the mid- dle housed the attendant and a steam engine to move the span.

The bridge served area residents well until 1951, when it was decided to phase the old bridge out. For several years it was restricted to one-way traf— tic—a great inconvenience. This continued until the bridge was closed for good in November, 1961. The last time the draw span was opened was in May, 1960 to let a barge and crane through to help construct the new

bridge.

It was decided in 1959 to construct a causeway bridge, using some of the old approaches on either side. Fill for the approaches came from the Reddin

pits in Crossroads, and Roland MacDonald’s farm in Southport. The new bridge opened in August, 1961.

Now all that remains of the original bridge structure are the rather stark concrete piers, considered by some conservationists as a worthy nesting

46