Maryland Bridge
{{short description|Twin span bridge in Winnipeg, Manitoba}}
{{About|the bridge in Manitoba|the dental restoration known as a Maryland bridge|Bridge (dentistry)#Adhesive bridge}}
{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name = Maryland Bridge
|image = Maryland_bridge_winnipeg.jpg
|image_size = 300px
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|carries = {{jct|province=MB|Winnipeg|70}}
|crosses = Assiniboine River
|maint = City of Winnipeg
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|traffic =25,400 per day (2013)
|begin =
|complete = 1969 (southbound side)
1970 (northbound side)
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|coordinates = {{coord|49|52|41|N|97|9|40|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
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The Maryland Bridge is a bridge that crosses over the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It serves as a major transportation route for Winnipeg. The bridge connects Academy Road with Maryland Street and Sherbrook Street. The current structure is the third bridge to span this section of the river. All three bridges were called the Maryland Bridge. Nearby landmarks include Misericordia Health Centre, Cornish Library, and Shaarey Zedek Synagogue.
History
= Original bridge (1894-1921) =
The first Maryland Bridge was constructed in 1894 and nicknamed the Boundary Bridge, because Maryland Street once served as Winnipeg's western boundary.{{cite web|title=Maryland Bridge|url=http://www.winnipeg.ca/clerks/docs/pathways/MovingPic02/MovingPic02-0001.stm|work=Pathways to Winnipeg History|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629172102/http://www.winnipeg.ca/clerks/docs/pathways/MovingPic02/MovingPic02-0001.stm|archive-date=29 June 2011|access-date=4 May 2011}} In 1915, the city of Winnipeg proposed transforming the bridge into a war memorial though the bridge was decommissioned before this idea came to fruition.{{Cite news|date=12 June 1915|title=Three New Bridges to Span Assiniboine|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1915/jun-12-p-26/|access-date=31 May 2020}}
Street car service on the first Maryland Bridge was suspended in June 1920.{{Cite news|date=1 July 1920|title=Maryland Bridge is Closed to Street Cars|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1920/jul-01-p-4/|access-date=31 May 2020}} The bridge previously serviced street car routes 35 and 37.{{Cite book|last=Darragh|first=Brian K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=krITBwAAQBAJ&dq=maryland+bridge&pg=PA162|title=The Streetcars of Winnipeg - Our Forgotten Heritage: Out of Sight - Out of Mind|publisher=FriesenPress|year=2015|isbn=978-1-4602-4654-2|pages=162|access-date=31 May 2020|via=Google Books}} Around the same time, concerns were raised of the safety of the bridge's infrastructure and a ban was put in place on heavy traffic and street cars crossing the bridge.{{Cite news|date=14 April 1920|title=Ashdown Says Maryland Street Bridge Is Disgraceful|page=9|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1920/apr-14-p-9/|access-date=31 May 2020}} The original Maryland Bridge was decommissioned in 1921 after the completion of construction on the second bridge.{{Cite news|date=3 August 1921|title=New Maryland Bridge Soon Ready For Traffic|page=7|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1921/aug-03-p-7/|access-date=31 May 2020}}{{Cite news|date=5 July 1920|title=Maryland Bridge Unlikely to be Rebuilt Before Winter|page=5|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1920/jul-05-p-5/|access-date=31 May 2020}}
= Second bridge (1921-1969) =
After a Census of Traffic was conducted on the original bridge because of increased traffic and safety concerns, construction began on the second Maryland Bridge in 1920, and was completed in 1921. In 1951, construction was completed on the Maryland Bridge Cut-Off, a project to cut down on congestion by allowing drivers to turn right off the bridge onto Wellington Crescent without having to wait for a green light.{{Cite news|date=20 July 1951|title=New Maryland Bridge Cut-Off Ready Soon|page=3|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1951/jul-20-p-3/|access-date=31 May 2020}}
In 1923, D. L. Saberton committed suicide by jumping from the Maryland Bridge and was the second person to die jumping from the bridge that week.{{Cite news|date=18 September 1923|title=River Takes Life Despite Gallant Rescue Effort|work=Winnipeg Tribune|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-tribune/1923/sep-18-p-1/|access-date=31 May 2020}} An unnamed man also committed suicide jumping from the bridge in 1925.{{Cite news|date=16 October 1925|title=Police Think Suicide Was Mysterious Vag.|page=1|work=Winnipeg Tribune|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-tribune/1925/oct-16-p-1/|access-date=31 May 2020}}{{Cite news|date=17 October 1925|title=No Clue to Identity of Suicide is Found|page=1|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1925/oct-17-p-1/|access-date=31 May 2020}}
The bridge was closed for demolition in 1969 upon the opening of the Twin Bridge's western span. The second bridge is memorialized by the Maryland Twin Bridge Monument, located south of the current Maryland Bridge.{{Cite news|last=Perry|first=Gail|date=6 June 2016|title=How Wolseley remains unabridged|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/metro/correspondent/How-Wolseley-remains-unabridged-382011031.html|access-date=31 May 2020}} The monument consists of a corner post shaped as a cairn that was preserved from the second Maryland Bridge.{{cite web|title=Historic Sites of Manitoba: Maryland Twin Bridge|url=http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/marylandtwinbridge.shtml|last=Goldsborough|first=Gordon|date=28 December 2010|publisher=The Manitoba Historical Society|access-date=4 May 2011}}
= Current bridge (1969-present) =
File:Maryland Bridge looking east.jpgThe current iteration of the Maryland Bridge was opened to traffic in two stages. The west structure on 8 November 1969 and the east structure on 5 August 1970. It was financed by the provincial government and constructed by the Metropolitan Corporation of Greater Winnipeg. In 2013, the Maryland Bridge was the 13th busiest bridge, out of 15, in Winnipeg with an average of 25,400 cars driving over the bridge per day.{{Cite news|last=Taylor|first=Derek|date=11 July 2013|title=Which Winnipeg bridge is the busiest?|work=Global News|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/710190/which-winnipeg-bridge-is-the-busiest/|access-date=31 May 2020}}
The Maryland Bridge was part of the route of the first Manitoba Marathon in 1979, though it is no longer on the marathon route.{{Cite news|last=Morgan|first=T. Kent|date=4 June 2018|title=40 years of Manitoba Marathons|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/our-communities/sports/40-years-of-Manitoba-Marathons-484501941.html|access-date=31 May 2020}}
Since 1995, the Maryland Bridge has been the site of the Misericordia Health Centre Foundation’s annual Angel Squad fundraiser. As part of the fundraiser, volunteers line the bridge in the early morning dressed as angels offering coffee to drivers in exchange for donations.{{Cite news|last=Hirschfield|first=Kevin|date=4 December 2017|title=Angels are gathering at the Maryland Bridge in Winnipeg|work=Global News|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3896180/angels-are-gathering-at-the-maryland-bridge-in-winnipeg/|access-date=31 May 2020}} In 2015, the Angel Squad beat the Guinness World Record for the largest gathering of angels.{{Cite news|last=Dangerfield|first=Katie|date=1 December 2016|title=Angels gather over the Maryland Bridge|work=Global News|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/3099669/angels-gather-over-the-maryland-bridge/}}
In 2007, Doug Prysiazniuk was killed while performing maintenance on the bridge. Prysiazniuk's death delayed bridge maintenance and was ultimately declared an accident.{{Cite news|date=26 September 2007|title=Fatal accident delays bridge work in Winnipeg|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/fatal-accident-delays-bridge-work-in-winnipeg-1.692808|access-date=31 May 2020}}
The space underneath the Maryland Bridge has regularly been a shelter for Winnipeg's homeless. In May 2019, police ordered those living beneath the bridge to leave.{{Cite news|last=Kahn|first=Ahmar|date=7 May 2019|title=Homeless camp cleared by police, but the problem isn't going away: city councillor|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/maryland-bridge-homeless-camp-1.5125634|access-date=31 May 2020}} Homeless individuals later returned to the bridge despite police orders to dismantle camps. In October 2019, a fire broke out beneath the bridge, though it caused no structural damage to the bridge and left behind no injuries.{{Cite news|date=2 October 2019|title=Homeless residents 'heartbroken' after fire ravages Winnipeg camp|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/osborne-village-smoke-winnipeg-1.5305556|access-date=31 May 2020}} In the spring of 2020, the city of Winnipeg began testing noise makers to deter homeless camps underneath the bridge. The project was discontinued in June after criticism from city councillors and citizens about the rights and dignity of the homeless population.{{Cite web|last=Keele|first=Jeff|date=24 June 2020|title=City of Winnipeg to discontinue controversial noise project|url=https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/mobile/city-of-winnipeg-to-discontinue-controversial-noise-project-1.4998289?cache=?ot=AjaxLayout/power-play-video-highlights|access-date=25 June 2020|website=CTV Winnipeg|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Froese|first=Ian|date=24 June 2020|title=Winnipeg silences piercing homeless deterrents under bridges after loud criticism|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/noise-deterrents-winnipeg-bridge-cancelled-1.5626262|access-date=25 June 2020}} In August, 2021, a small trash fire broke out under the bridge, once again leaving no injuries.{{Cite web|last=McKendrick|first=Devon|date=2021-08-03|title=Small fire sparks under Maryland Bridge|url=https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/small-fire-sparks-under-maryland-bridge-1.5533301|access-date=2021-08-04|website=CTV Winnipeg|language=en}}
The Maryland Bridge has been used as a site for honouring missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls. In the 2010s, red ribbons were tied to bridges across Winnipeg, with each ribbon representing a missing or murdered Indigenous woman.{{Cite news|last=Coubrough|first=Jill|date=2016-11-14|title=Red ribbons adorn Winnipeg bridges to honour MMIW|work=CBC|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/red-ribbons-adorn-winnipeg-bridges-to-honour-mmiw-1.3851146|access-date=2021-11-27}} The ribbons were subsequently removed from the Maryland Bridge by unknown parties. Indigenous men's support group Healing Together found and replaced the missing ribbons in early 2021.{{Cite web|last=Stones|first=Simon|date=2021-03-21|title=Indigenous men's group to replace red ribbons on Maryland Bridge|url=https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/indigenous-men-s-group-to-replace-red-ribbons-on-maryland-bridge-1.5356383|access-date=2021-11-27|website=CTV Winnipeg|language=en}}
Architecture
=Original bridge=
The first bridge was made of steel truss. This iteration of the Maryland Bridge was described by the Winnipeg Free Press as having a "Renaissance character" with "classic mouldings and features".{{Cite news|date=12 June 1915|title=Three New Bridges to Span Assiniboine|work=Winnipeg Free Press|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/ca/mb/winnipeg/winnipeg-free-press/1915/jun-12-p-26/|access-date=31 May 2020|quote="Maryland bridge is given the Renaissance character by its classic mouldings and features."}}
=Second bridge=
The second bridge was a concrete arch structure that included a coloured aggregate of red granite, crushed to pass through a {{convert|.75|inch}} screen, exposed by scrubbing with steel brushes, and cleaned by several washings of muriatic acid and water.{{cite book|title=Engineering and contracting|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=baTmAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA4-PA79|access-date=4 May 2011|year=1922|publisher=Gillette Publishing Co.|pages=4–}}
=Current bridge=
The current bridge consists of I-shaped AASHTO girders{{cite book|last1=Rizkalla|first1=S. H.|last2=Nanni|first2=Antonio|title=Field applications of FRP reinforcement: case studies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=76xRAAAAMAAJ|access-date=4 May 2011|year=2003|publisher=American Concrete Institute|isbn=978-0-87031-121-5|page=242}} and twin, five-span continuous precast prestressed concrete structures.{{cite web|url=http://www.isiscanada.com/demo/manitoba.html|title=Field Demonstration Projects Manitoba|publisher=ISIS Canada Research Network|access-date=4 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005032208/http://www.isiscanada.com/demo/manitoba.html|archive-date=5 October 2011|url-status=dead}} Renovations to the northbound span occurred in 2005. In 2006, the southbound span was renovated.
References
{{Commons category|Maryland Bridge, Winnipeg|Maryland Bridge}}
{{Reflist|2}}
Category:Road bridges in Manitoba
Category:Buildings and structures in Winnipeg
Category:River Heights, Winnipeg
Category:Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls movement