Reconciliation Bridge
{{Short description|Bridge in Calgary, Alberta, Canada}}
{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name = Reconciliation Bridge
| native_name =
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| image = Reconciliation Bridge-Calgary.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| alt = Reconciliation Bridge
| caption = Reconciliation Bridge in 2010
| official_name =
| other_name = 4th Street NW Bridge
Langevin Bridge (1910-2017)
| carries = Edmonton Trail
| crosses = Bow River
| locale = Calgary
| maint = City of Calgary
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| material = Steel and Concrete
| spans = 2
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| traffic = 11,000 (2022){{cite web | title=Traffic volume flow maps | website=www.calgary.ca | date=January 18, 2024 | url=https://www.calgary.ca/planning/transportation/traffic-volume-flow-maps.html | access-date=July 13, 2024}}
| builder =
| begin =
| complete = 1909
| open = 1910
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| coordinates = {{coord|51.04995|-114.05219|display=inline,title}}
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The Reconciliation Bridge (formerly the Langevin Bridge) is a through truss bridge in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It connects Downtown Calgary with north-central Calgary communities such as Bridgeland and Crescent Heights, by spanning the Bow River between 4th Avenue South and Memorial Drive.
The bridge is part of the Bow River pathway system.
On January 23, 2017, Calgary City Council voted to change the name from Langevin Bridge to the Reconciliation Bridge.{{cite web|title=Langevin Bridge gets a new name: Reconciliaton Bridge|url=https://www.calgarycitynews.com/2017/01/langevin-bridge-gets-new-name.html|website=Calgary City News Blog: A City of Calgary News Blog|publisher=City of Calgary|accessdate=May 16, 2017|date=January 25, 2017}}
History
The bridge was opened in 1910 and was named for Sir Hector-Louis Langevin,{{Cite web |title=Langevin bridges |author=Glenbow Museum |authorlink=Glenbow Museum |url=http://www.glenbow.org/exhibitions/online/historicCalgary/oldnewbrg.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=January 5, 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105183247/http://www.glenbow.org/exhibitions/online/historicCalgary/oldnewbrg.html }} one of the Fathers of the Canadian Confederation. The original span carries southbound 4th Street traffic across the river. A second span, a Box girder bridge built in 1972 carrying northbound traffic on 5th Street (Edmonton Trail NE), is also referred to as Langevin Bridge.
In 2009, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation set up 5,600 programmable lights on the bridge for Christmas, at a cost of $400,000,{{Cite web |url=http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=2bbce25f-d97d-4c59-b2e8-6690e17d1b6a|title=Langevin Bridge light show|author=Calgary Herald|authorlink=Calgary Herald|date=December 24, 2009|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606153056/http://www2.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=2bbce25f-d97d-4c59-b2e8-6690e17d1b6a |archivedate=June 6, 2012}} as a part of Downtown East Village re-vitalization efforts. The LED installation, is composed of 5600 LED grouped in 156 programmable light assemblies,{{Cite web |title=Langevin Bridge |author=Calgary Municipal Land Corporation |url=http://www.calgarymlc.ca/rivers_projects/langevin_bridge/light_up_langevin/ |archivedate=March 29, 2010|url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329132648/http://www.calgarymlc.ca/rivers_projects/langevin_bridge/light_up_langevin/ }} and is part of the RiverWalk project, an effort to improve the pathways along the Bow and Elbow rivers adjacent to the East Village.
The Reconciliation Bridge is located at 4th Street NE and Riverfront Avenue SE.
The bridge was renamed after a majority vote at Calgary city council on Monday, January 23, 2017, with the new bridge being named the Reconciliation Bridge. On May 26, 2018, the bridge was renamed in a ceremony.{{cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/reconciliation-bridge-renaming-1.4679661 |accessdate=September 13, 2021| title=Reconciliation Bridge renamed as 'symbol of resilience' for residential school survivors | date=May 26, 2018 | website=CBC }}{{Cite web|url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4233952/calgarys-reconciliation-bridge-renamed-we-cant-change-the-past-but-we-are-not-prisoners-of-it/ |title=Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge renamed: 'We can't change the past but we are not prisoners of it' |date=May 16, 2018 |first=Carolyn |last=Kury de Castillo |website=Globalnews.ca |access-date=August 18, 2022}}