# Saint John Harbour Bridge

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Bridge in New Brunswick, Canada

Saint John Harbour Bridge Saint John Harbour Bridge, July 2025 Coordinates 45°15′59″N 66°04′27″W / 45.26639°N 66.07417°W / 45.26639; -66.07417 Carries Route 1 (4 lanes) Crosses Saint John Harbour Locale Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Characteristics Design Steel haunched box-girder Total length 1,300 m (4,300 ft) Longest span 250 m (820 ft) History Opened 1968 Statistics Toll None Location Interactive map of Saint John Harbour Bridge

The **Saint John Harbour Bridge** is three-span crossing of [Saint John Harbour](/source/Saint_John_Harbour) at the mouth of the [Saint John River](/source/Saint_John_River_(New_Brunswick)) in [Saint John](/source/Saint_John%2C_New_Brunswick), [New Brunswick](/source/New_Brunswick), [Canada](/source/Canada). It opened in 1968.

## History

Proposals for a bridge crossing of the Saint John Harbour had been a debated topic as early as 1874. During a [House of Commons](/source/House_of_Commons_of_Canada) session in April of that year, there was discussion of potentially introducing a harbour crossing via [Navy Island](/source/Navy_Island_(Saint_John)). [John Ferris](/source/John_Ferris_(New_Brunswick_politician)), MP of Queen's at the time, opposed the Navy Island crossing and argued that such a bridge would be "destructive to river craft," instead arguing that any harbour crossing should be placed at the [Reversing Falls](/source/Reversing_Falls) to be high enough to clear passing vessels.[1]

By the mid-20th century, the rate of industrial and residential growth in Saint John and surrounding communities necessitated a second bridge over the Saint John River. The old [Reversing Falls Bridge](/source/Reversing_Falls_Bridge) was adequate for handling the post-War traffic growth; however public concerns about where to build a new highway and bridge frustrated the idea for many years. On May 1, 1961 the city's Common Council appointed a 6-member citizens' committee which then directed various studies and discussions.

Ultimately, the bridge was built as a cooperative project between the federal, provincial and municipal governments. They decided to purchase the majority of the Mill Street Yard from the [Canadian Pacific Railway](/source/Canadian_Pacific_Railway) for a new highway alignment which would run through the middle of the city downstream of Reversing Falls. The federally controlled [National Harbours Board](/source/National_Harbours_Board) (now Ports Canada) would build the bridge. Part of this deal involved the NHB collecting a 25¢ toll in each direction. Under the original act prevented any toll increase for forty years without federal, provincial and municipal agreement. .

The bridge's construction had early critics, including [K. C. Irving](/source/K._C._Irving), who in 1965 critiqued the $18 million budget through publicly released letters addressed to the vice-chairman of the Harbour Bridge Authority, the [Common Council](/source/Saint_John_Common_Council), and the mayor.[2]

The selected location remains controversial as it prevents high-clearance vessels from navigating into the upper part of the Saint John Harbour. Construction of the bridge also drew to a close the status of [Navy Island](/source/Navy_Island_(Saint_John)) as an island within the Inner Harbour and resulted in the demolition of the historic neo-[gothic](/source/Gothic_architecture) Union Station. Earlier proposals had called for the Saint John Throughway and the bridge to be built north of the [Reversing Falls](/source/Reversing_Falls) gorge.

## Design and capacity

Saint John Harbour Bridge was designed and built as a hollow box, haunched girder structure. It carries four lanes of traffic across 3 spans, measuring 125 metres (410 ft), 250 metres (820 ft), and 125 metres (410 ft). Contracts for the four main piers were signed in September 1965 and the crossing opened on August 17, 1968 as part of the ambitious [Saint John Throughway](/source/New_Brunswick_Route_1#Saint_John_Throughway) project.

The bridge in 2006

Tolls were set at 25 cents when the bridge was constructed. The Harbour Bridge Authority increased the cash-toll from $0.25 to $0.50 for regular commuter traffic beginning January, 2007. This is the first, and only, permitted rate increase since the bridge was built; however, by 2010, the tolls were eliminated, and the building later demolished.

## Transfer of authority

Meanwhile, by 2010, more than forty years after the bridge was built, it was in need of more than $35 million worth of repairs. Without the necessary repairs, the Harbour Bridge Authority warned it would need to close two lanes of traffic and impose weight restrictions on the bridge, threatening to inhibit traffic flow during commute times as well as posing as a problem to transports coming to and from the bordering state of Maine, USA.[3]

The three levels of government negotiating the project's financing. On November 26, 2010 [Stephen Harper](/source/Stephen_Harper) and [David Alward](/source/David_Alward) announced an agreement. It eliminated the toll and wiped away a $22.6 million debt, while the [Federal Government](/source/Government_of_Canada) agreed to pay for half of the $35 million structural repairs.[4]

The Bridge Authority was abolished and management of the bridge was placed under the [New Brunswick Department of Transportation and Infrastructure](/source/Department_of_Transportation_and_Infrastructure_(New_Brunswick)). In 2013, the Department announced that it had sold the office building formerly used by the Bridge Authority to the Saint John Port Authority.[5]

## See also

- [List of bridges in Canada](/source/List_of_bridges_in_Canada)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Parliament"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-journal/176526750/). *[Telegraph-Journal](/source/Telegraph-Journal)*. April 29, 1874. p. 2. Retrieved July 13, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["K. C. Irving Releases Copies Of Bridge Letters"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/telegraph-journal/176526246/). *[Telegraph-Journal](/source/Telegraph-Journal)*. November 25, 1965. p. 5. Retrieved July 13, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Saint John Harbour Bridge repairs needed soon"](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-john-harbour-bridge-repairs-needed-soon-1.829351). *[CBC News](/source/CBC_News)*. 21 October 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Harper reveals Saint John bridge deal"](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/harper-reveals-saint-john-bridge-deal-1.866635). *[CBC News](/source/CBC_News)*. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 2 April 2026.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Saint John Harbour Bridge building sold to Port Saint John"](http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/news/news_release.2013.07.0640.html). *New Brunswick government Press Release*. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.

v t e Saint John River Watershed Tributaries Maine Allagash River Aroostook River Baker Branch Saint John River Blackwater River Big Black River Birch River Brown River Campbell Branch Little Black River Chimenticook River Daaquam River Depot River East Branch Pocwock Stream Fish River Gobeil River Little Black River Little Machias River Little Madawaska River Little River Little Saint Roch River Little Southwest Branch Saint John River Machias River Meduxnekeag River Musquacook Stream North Branch Birch River North Branch Blackwater River North Branch Meduxnekeag River Northwest Branch Saint John River Otter River Pocwock River Red River River De Chute Saint Francis River Saint John River Shields Branch South Branch Birch River South Branch Blackwater River South Branch Machias River South Branch Meduxnekeag River Southwest Branch Saint John River St. Croix Stream West Branch Little Black River West Branch Pocwock Stream New Brunswick Aroostook River Becaguimec Stream Canaan River Gaspereau River Hammond River Iroquois River Jemseg River Kennebecasis River Keswick River Little Iroquois River Madawaska River Meduxnekeag River Nashwaak River Nerepis River North Branch Meduxnekeag River Oromocto River River De Chute Saint Francis River Saint John River Salmon River Tobique River Lakes Baker Lake Beau Lake Chemquasabamticook Lake Churchill Lake Clear Lake Cross Lake Eagle Lake (Allagash R.) Eagle Lake (Fish R.) Fish River Lake Glazier Lake Grand Lake Long Lake Mactaquac Lake Millinocket Lake Mud Lake Munsungan Lake Musquacook Lakes Lake Pohenegamook Portage Lake Saint Froid Lake Saint John Ponds Scopan Lake Square Lake Umsaskis Lake Towns Allagash Ashland Blaine Bridgewater Caribou Eagle Lake Easton Edmundston Florenceville-Bristol Fort Fairfield Fort Kent Fredericton Frenchville Grand Bay–Westfield Grand Falls Grand Isle Hampton Hartland Hodgdon Houlton Lac-Frontière Limestone Littleton Madawaska Mapleton Mars Hill Masardis Monticello Nackawic-Millville New Limerick Oromocto Perham Perth-Andover Pohénégamook Portage Lake Presque Isle Quispamsis Rivière-Bleue Rothesay Sainte Agatha Saint-Camille-de-Lellis Saint-Cyprien Saint Francis Saint John Saint-Just-de-Bretenières Saint-Léonard Saint-Marcel Saint-Pamphile Saint-Zacharie Stockholm Sussex Van Buren Washburn Wade Westfield Woodstock Landmarks Allagash Wilderness Waterway Bangor and Aroostook Railroad Clair–Fort Kent Bridge Edmundston–Madawaska Bridge Florenceville Bridge Fort Kent Hartland Bridge North Maine Woods Reversing Falls Saint John Harbour Bridge Saint John River High Level Crossing Saint Leonard–Van Buren Bridge Tinker Dam Watson Settlement Bridge

[45°15′59.4″N 66°4′27.5″W / 45.266500°N 66.074306°W / 45.266500; -66.074306](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=Saint_John_Harbour_Bridge&params=45_15_59.4_N_66_4_27.5_W_)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Saint John Harbour Bridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John_Harbour_Bridge) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John_Harbour_Bridge?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.