View source for Quebec Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge in Quebec City and Lévis, Quebec}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox Bridge
| bridge_name = Quebec Bridge
| native_name = Pont de Québec
| image = 125 - Québec - Pont de Québec de nuit - Septembre 2009.jpg
| caption = The Quebec Bridge from the west side
| also_known_as = 
| carries = [[Quebec Route 175|Route 175]] [[File:Qc175.svg|20px]]<br />[[Canadian National Railway]] and [[Via Rail]]<br />1 [[Foot bridge|pedestrian walkway]]
| crosses = [[St. Lawrence River]]
| locale = [[Quebec City]], and [[Lévis, Quebec]]
| owner = [[Government of Canada]]
| maint = Government of Canada (overall structure), Canadian National Railway (rail track only), Government of Quebec (road deck only) <!-- Quebec Bridge is no longer maintained by the CN since it is now owned by the Government of Canada. The road deck is maintained by the Government of Quebec. The rail track is still maintained by the CN, but the bridge structure as a whole is maintained by the Government of Canada. Look it up and see for yourselves. Links as proof: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2072893/ottawa-rachat-pont-quebec-cn-trudeau; https://www.quebec.ca/transports/infrastructures-projets/projets/projets-routiers/capitale-nationale/pont-quebec-remplacement-tablier -->
| id = 
| followed = [[Île d'Orléans Bridge]] (partial crossing)
| preceded = [[Pierre Laporte Bridge]]
| design = [[Cantilever bridge]]
| mainspan = {{convert|549|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| length = {{convert|987|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| width = {{convert|29|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide
| clearance = (?)
| below = {{convert|46|m|ft|abbr=on}} (high tide)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tc.gc.ca/media/documents/politique/062-administration-portuaire-de-quebec.pdf#page=13 |title=Mémoire de l'Administration portuaire de Québec et des usagers ferroviaires du Port de Québec |website=Port of Quebec |page=12 |language=fr |access-date=10 October 2018 |archive-date=6 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806011651/https://tc.gc.ca/media/documents/politique/062-administration-portuaire-de-quebec.pdf#page=13 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| lanes = 3
| num_track = 1
| track_gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}}
| structure_gauge = [[Association of American Railroads|AAR]]
| electrification = No
| traffic = 
| open = 3 December 1919
| closed = 
| toll = none since 1942
| map_cue = 
| map_image = 
| map_text = 
| map_width = 
| coordinates = {{Coord|46|44|46|N|71|17|16|W|region:CA_type:landmark}}
| extra = {{designation list|embed=yes|designation1=Canada|designation1_date=1995}}
| cost = $22 million (Approx. 375M$ in 2024)
}}

The '''Quebec Bridge''' ({{langx|fr|pont de Québec}}) is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge across the lower [[Saint Lawrence River]] between [[Sainte-Foy, Quebec City|Sainte-Foy]] (a former suburb that in 2002 became the arrondissement [[Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge]] in [[Quebec City]]) and [[Lévis, Quebec|Lévis]], in [[Quebec, Canada]]. The project failed twice during its construction, in 1907 and 1916, at the cost of 88 lives and additional people injured. The bridge eventually opened in 1919.

The Quebec Bridge is a riveted steel [[Truss bridge|truss structure]] and is {{convert|987|m|ft|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|29|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide, and {{convert|104|m|ft|abbr=on}} high. [[Cantilever bridge|Cantilever arms]] {{convert|177|m|ft|abbr=on}} long support a {{convert|195|m|ft|abbr=on}} central structure, for a [[total span]] of {{convert|549|m|ft|abbr=on}}, still the [[List of longest cantilever bridge spans|longest cantilever bridge span]] in the world. (It was the all-categories longest span in the world until the [[Ambassador Bridge]] was completed in 1929.) It is the easternmost (farthest downstream) complete crossing of the Saint Lawrence River.

The bridge accommodates [[Quebec Route 175|three highway lanes]] (there were none until 1929, when one was added; another was added in 1949 and a third in 1993), one rail line (two until 1949), and a [[footbridge|pedestrian walkway]] (originally two). At one time, it also carried a streetcar line. Since 1993, it has been owned by the [[Canadian National Railway]].

On 15 May 2024, the Quebec Bridge was purchased by the Federal Government for a symbolic $1.

The Quebec Bridge was designated a [[National Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site]] in 1995.

==Background==
Before the Quebec Bridge was built, the only way to travel from the south shore of the St. Lawrence in [[Lévis, Quebec|Lévis]] to the north shore at [[Quebec City]] was to take a ferry or to use the wintertime [[ice road|ice bridge]]. The construction of a bridge over the St. Lawrence River at Quebec was considered as early as 1852. It was further discussed in 1867, 1882, and 1884. After a period of political instability during which Canada had four prime ministers in five years, [[Wilfrid Laurier]], the Member of Parliament for the [[electoral district (Canada)|federal riding]] of [[Quebec East]], was elected on a [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]] platform in 1896 and led the push to build the Quebec Bridge until he left office in 1911.

A March 1897 article in the ''Quebec Morning Chronicle'' noted:
<blockquote>The bridge question has again been revived after many years of slumber, and business men in Quebec seem hopeful that something will come of it, though the placing of a subsidy on the statute book is but a small part of the work to be accomplished, as some of its enthusiastic promoters will, ere long, discover. Both Federal and Provincial Governments seem disposed to contribute towards the cost, and the City of Quebec will also be expected to do its share. Many of our people have objected to any contribution being given by the city unless the bridge is built opposite the town, and the CHRONICLE like every other good citizen of Quebec would prefer to see it constructed at Diamond Harbor<!-- was it really misspelled like that? other Google books hits for the "Quebec Morning Chronicle" and "Diamond" use the expected "Harbour" -->, and has contended in the interests of the city for this site as long as there seemed to be any possibility of securing it there. It would still do so if it appeared that our people could have it at that site. A bridge at Diamond Harbor would, it estimated, cost at least eight millions. It would be very nice to have, with its double track, electric car track, and roads for vehicles and pedestrians, and would no doubt create a goodly traffic between the two towns, and be one of the show works of the continent.</blockquote>

==First design and collapse of 29 August 1907==
[[File:Quebec Bridge Collapse of 1907.jpg|thumb|Wreckage of the 1907 collapse]]

The Quebec Bridge was included in the [[National Transcontinental Railway]] project, undertaken by the federal government. The Quebec Bridge Company was first incorporated by Act of Parliament under the government of Sir [[John A. Macdonald]] in 1887,<ref>50–51 Vic c.98</ref> later revived in 1891,<ref>54–55 Vic c.107</ref> and revived for good in 1897 by the government of [[Wilfrid Laurier]],<ref>60–61 Vic c.69</ref> who granted them an extension of time in 1900.<ref>63–64 Vic c.115</ref>

In 1903, the bond issue was increased to $6,000,000 and power to grant preference shares was authorised, along with a name change to the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company (QBRC).<ref>3 Edw VII c.177</ref>  An Act of Parliament the same year was necessary to guarantee the bonds by the public purse.<ref>3 Edw VII c.54</ref> Laurier was the MP for [[Quebec East]] riding, while the president of the QBRC, [[Simon-Napoleon Parent]], was Quebec City's mayor from 1894 to 1906 and simultaneously served as Premier of Quebec from 1900 to 1905.{{citation needed|date = June 2014}}

[[Edward A. Hoare]] was selected as Chief Engineer for the Company throughout this time,<ref name=wdm>Wm. D. Middleton: ''The Bridge at Quebec'', Indiana University Press, 2001</ref> while [[Collingwood Schreiber]] was the Chief Engineer of the Department of Railways and Canals in Ottawa.<ref name=dcbschreiber>[http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/schreiber_collingwood_14E.html Dictionary of Canadian Biography: "Schreiber, Sir Collingwood"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214232009/http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/schreiber_collingwood_14E.html |date=14 December 2013 }}</ref> Hoare had never worked on a cantilever bridge structure longer than {{convert|300|ft|m}}.<ref name=wdm/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.engr.usask.ca/classes/GE/449/notes/Quebec_Bridge_story.pdf |title=Notes from USask Notes on General Engineering, 'Engineering in Society 449' |access-date=2014-01-07 |archive-date=2014-03-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140326193502/http://www.engr.usask.ca/classes/GE/449/notes/Quebec_Bridge_story.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>  Schreiber was assisted until 9 July 1903 by Department bridge engineer R.C. Douglas, at which time Douglas was deposed for his opposition to the calculations that were submitted by the contractors.<ref>Royal Commission, p. 41</ref>  Schreiber subsequently requested the support of another qualified bridge engineer, but was effectively overruled by the Cabinet on 15 August 1903.  Thereafter, QBRC consulting engineer [[Theodore Cooper]] was completely in charge of the works.<ref>Royal Commission, p. 48</ref> On 1 July 1905, Schreiber was demoted and replaced as deputy minister and chief engineer by [[Matthew Joseph Butler|Matthew J Butler]].<ref name=dcbschreiber/><ref>[http://history.uwo.ca/cdneng/butler.html ''Biographical Dictionary of Canadian Engineers'' (at UWO): "Butler, Matthew Joseph"]</ref>

By 1904, the southern half of the structure was taking shape. However, preliminary calculations made early in the planning stages were never properly checked when the design was completed. All went well until the bridge was nearing completion in the summer of 1907, when the QBRC site engineering team under Norman McLure began noticing increasing distortions of key structural members already in place: the bridge’s [[dead load]] was proving too heavy, with its own weight being far in excess of its carrying capacity.{{citation needed|date = June 2014}}

McLure became increasingly concerned and wrote repeatedly to QBRC consulting engineer [[Theodore Cooper]], who at first replied that the problems were minor. The [[Phoenix Bridge Company]] officials claimed that the beams must already have been bent before they were installed, but by 27 August it had become clear to McLure that this was wrong. A more experienced engineer might have telegraphed Cooper, but McLure wrote him a letter, and went to New York to meet with him two days later. Cooper agreed that the issue was serious, and promptly telegraphed to the Phoenix Bridge Company: "Add no more load to bridge till after due consideration of facts." The two engineers went to the Phoenix offices.{{citation needed|date = June 2014}}

But, Cooper's message was not passed on to Quebec before it was too late. Near quitting time on the afternoon of 29 August, after four years of construction, the south arm and part of the central section of the bridge collapsed into the St. Lawrence River in 15 seconds. Of the 86 workers on the bridge that day, 75 were killed and the rest were injured,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/world/the-five-worst-bridge-collapses-in-canadian-history|title=The five worst bridge collapses in Canadian history|last=Deachman|first=Bruce|date=5 August 2016|publisher=[[Ottawa Citizen]]|language=en-US|access-date=5 August 2016|archive-date=6 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806162809/http://ottawacitizen.com/news/world/the-five-worst-bridge-collapses-in-canadian-history|url-status=live}}</ref> making it the world's worst bridge construction disaster. Of these victims, 33 (some sources say 35) were [[Mohawk nation|Mohawk]] steelworkers from the [[Kahnawake]] reserve near Montreal; they were buried at Kahnawake under crosses made of steel beams.<ref>Cecil Adams, "[https://web.archive.org/web/20110628212726/http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/659/why-do-so-many-native-americans-work-on-skyscrapers The Straight Dope: Why do so many Native Americans work on skyscrapers?]", ''[[Chicago Reader]]'', 18 December 1992.</ref>

On 30 August 1907, a [[Royal Commission]] of inquiry into the disaster was provisionally appointed by the Deputy Minister in charge of the Department of Railways and Canals (Butler), with the concurrence of the Minister.  The Royal Commission, which was granted by [[Edward VII]] by advice of his Governor General, [[Albert Grey]], on 31 August 1907, consisted of three members, who were all engineers of good standing: Henry Holgate, of Montreal,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Millard|first=Rod|date=2011-07-06|title=Holgate, Henry|url=https://history.uwo.ca/cdneng/holgate.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706212950/https://history.uwo.ca/cdneng/holgate.html|archive-date=2011-07-06|access-date=2021-02-01|website=Biographical Dictionary of Canadian Engineers}}</ref> JGG Kerry, of [[Campbellford, Ontario]], also an instructor at [[McGill University]], and Professor John Galbraith, then dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at the [[University of Toronto]].  The Commission document conferred upon the commissioners full powers to summon witnesses and documents, and to express "any opinion they may see to express thereon".

The Commissioners included the hindsight work of consulting bridge engineer C.C. Schneider, of Philadelphia (a fulfillment of the 1903 request of Schreiber, supra), and presented their Report in full on 20 February 1908, which issued 15 conclusions.<ref>{{cite report |title=Royal Commission Quebec Bridge Inquiry Report|date=1908|location=Ottawa|publisher=SE Dawson, by order of Parliament|url=https://archive.org/details/reportandplansa01schngoog }}</ref>

The Commissioners attributed responsibility for the failure to two men, consulting engineer Theodore Cooper and [[Peter L. Szlapka]], Chief Designing Engineer for Phoenix Bridge Company:

<blockquote>
(c) The design of the chords that failed was made by Mr. P.L. Szlapka, the designing engineer of the Phoenix Bridge Company

(d) This design was examined and officially approved by Mr. Theodore Cooper, consulting engineer of the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company.

(e) The failure cannot be attributed directly to any cause other than errors in judgment on the part of these two engineers.
</blockquote>

Cooper escaped penal sanction.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/08/25/103459362.pdf "Theodore Cooper Dies at 81" New York Times obituary.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422031227/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1919/08/25/103459362.pdf |date=22 April 2022 }}</ref> It is presumed that Szlapka escaped as well.  The Commissioners also found that:

<blockquote>
(k) The failure on the part of the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company to appoint an experienced bridge engineer to the position of chief engineer was a mistake.  This resulted in a loose and inefficient supervision of all parts of the work on the part of the Quebec Bridge and Railway Company. 
</blockquote>

The abortive construction of the Quebec Bridge spanned the careers of two [[Minister of Railways and Canals (Canada)|Ministers of Railways and Canals]], and one temporary replacement, who was on the job for five months immediately preceding the disaster. A popular myth is that the iron and the steel from the collapsed bridge, which could not be reused for construction, was used to forge the early [[Iron Ring]]s that started to be worn by graduates of Canadian engineering schools in 1925.<ref>[http://www.networx.on.ca/~njdevil/mainpage/E_Eng/Academic/jj-ring.htm#4 Information Relevant to the Iron Ring Ceremony] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706192330/http://www.networx.on.ca/~njdevil/mainpage/E_Eng/Academic/jj-ring.htm#4 |date=6 July 2011 }}, 22 November 2001; Retrieved 4 April 2010</ref>
{{wide image|Bridges_25.png|600px|Drawing of the original design of Quebec Bridge}}

==Second design and collapse of 11 September 1916==
[[File:Quebec Bridge Collapse.jpg|thumb|right|11 September 1916, Quebec Bridge Collapse]]After a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the collapse, construction started on a second bridge. Three engineers were appointed: H. E. Vautelet, a former engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railways, Maurice FitzMaurice from Britain, who worked on the construction of the [[Forth Railway Bridge|Forth Bridge]], and [[Ralph Modjeski]] from [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]]. Vautelet was President and Chief Engineer. The new design was again for a bridge with a single long compound cantilever span but with a more massive structure.

On 11 September 1916, when the central span was being raised into position, it fell into the river, killing 13 workers.<ref name=":0" /> The chief engineer had been made aware of the problem six weeks before the collapse. The chief engineer had been alerted to a problem by Frants Lichtenberg, the engineer responsible for the construction of the centre section. Lichtenberg was also working as an inspector for the federal government of Canada at the time.<ref>Frants Lichtenberg's letter to his son Steen Lichtenberg in 1954, describing the construction of the Quebec Bridge.</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Middleton|first=William D.|title=The Bridge at Quebec|year=2001|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=0-253-33761-5|page=158|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JjdRuG7xmlwC|access-date=2012-01-11}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=February 2020}} Fears of German sabotage were reported{{citation needed|date=December 2021}} because the [[Great War]] had begun, but it became apparent that the central span had collapsed because of the failure of a casting in the erection equipment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Whalen |first1=James M. |title=A Bridge With Two Tragedies |url=https://legionmagazine.com/a-bridge-with-two-tragedies/ |publisher=Legion: Canada's Military History Magazine |access-date=3 December 2021 |date=1 November 2000}}</ref>

Re-construction began almost immediately after the accident, and the government granted special permission for the bridge builders to acquire the needed steel, which was in high demand because of the War effort. After the bridge was completed in 1917, special passes were required for those wanting to cross the bridge. Armed soldiers, and later [[Dominion Police]], guarded the structure and checked passes until the end of the War.

==Completion==
{{unreferenced section|date = July 2019}}
[[File:Quebec Bridge Construction 1917.JPG|right|thumb|Lifting the centre span in place was considered to be a major engineering achievement. Photo caption from ''[[Popular Mechanics]]'' magazine, December 1917]]
Construction was ultimately completed in September 1917 at a total cost of $23 million and the lives of 88 bridgeworkers. On 17 October, the first train crossed the bridge from Quebec to Lévis, and on 3 December 1917, the Quebec Bridge officially opened for rail traffic, after almost two decades of construction. Its centre span of 549&nbsp;m (1800&nbsp;ft) remains the longest cantilevered bridge span in the world and is considered a major engineering feat. The Quebec Bridge was declared an [[Historic Civil Engineering Landmark|International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark]] in 1987 by the Canadian and American Society of Civil Engineers.

==Post-completion history==
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2017}}
The bridge was built and designed primarily as a railway bridge, but the streetcar lines (used by [[Quebec City Tramway#First tramway (1865 to 1948)|Quebec Railway, Light & Power Company]]) and one of the two railway tracks were converted into automobile and pedestrian/cycling lanes in subsequent years. In 1970, the [[Pierre Laporte Bridge|Pierre Laporte Suspension Bridge]] opened just upstream to accommodate [[Autoroute (Quebec)|freeway]] traffic on [[Quebec Autoroute 73|Autoroute 73]].

On 24 November 1995, the bridge was declared a [[National Historic Sites of Canada|National Historic Site]].<ref>{{CRHP|13400|Québec Bridge National Historic Site of Canada|26 August 2011}}</ref>

The bridge has been featured on two commemorative postage stamps, one issued by the [[Canada Post|Post Office Department]] in 1929,<ref>[https://postagestampguide.com/stamps/15499/quebec-cantilever-bridge-1929-canada-postage-stamp Quebec Cantilever Bridge], Postage Stamp Guide</ref> and another by Canada Post in 1995.<ref>[https://postagestampguide.com/stamps/16875/quebec-bridge-quebec-quebec-1995-canada-postage-stamp-bridges Quebec Bridge, Quebec, QC], Postage Stage Guide</ref>

The bridge was built as part of the National Transcontinental Railway, which was merged into the [[Canadian Government Railways]] and later became part of the [[Canadian National Railway]] (CN). The Canadian Government Railways company was maintained by the federal government until 1993, when a [[Privy Council]] order dated 22 July authorized the sale of Canadian Government Railways to the [[Crown corporation]] CN for one [[Canadian dollar]]. On that date, the Quebec Bridge also came under complete ownership of CN. CN was privatized in November 1995, making the bridge privately owned.

Despite its private ownership, CN received federal and provincial funding to undertake repairs and maintenance on the structure. Its railway designation is mile 0.2 subdivision Bridge.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

==Aftermath of the collapse==
[[File:Quebec and Pierre-Laporte Bridges.jpg|left|thumb|Quebec Bridge and [[Pierre Laporte Bridge]] in winter]]

The disaster showed the dangers of inadequately supervised work.  As a protection from it, Galbraith and other [[engineer]]s formed around 1925 what are now recognized as [[Professional body|organizations]] of [[Professional Engineer]]s (P.Engs). Professional Engineers are under different rules and regulations based on the organization to which they belong. General guidelines include that an engineer must pass an [[Engineering ethics|ethical]] examination, be able to show good character through the use of [[character evidence|character witnesses]], and have applicable engineering experience (in Canada that constitutes a minimum of four years' practice under a certified Professional Engineer). Moreover, engineers must be registered in the province in which they work.<ref>{{cite book|last=Lawson|first=Don|year=2005|title=Engineering Disasters – Lessons to be Learned|publisher=ASME Press|isbn=0-7918-0230-2|page=186}}</ref> These engineering organizations are regulated by the respective provinces and the title "Professional Engineer" (or "Ingénieur" in Quebec) is reserved only to members who belong to this organization.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

On 29 August 2006, a year-long commemoration was begun in the [[Kahnawake 14, Quebec|Kahnawake Reserve]] for the lives of the 33 [[Mohawk nation|Mohawk]] men who died in 1907.<ref name=cbc1>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kahnawake-mohawks-mark-1907-quebec-bridge-disaster-1.623180 "Kahnawake Mohawks mark 1907 Quebec bridge disaster"], 31 August 2006</ref>  One year later, on 29 August 2007, memorial services were held to dedicate a concrete structure displaying the victims' names on the Lévis side of the bridge, and to unveil a steel replica of the bridge in Kahnawake.<ref name=cbc2>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/mohawks-join-memorial-for-75-who-died-in-1907-quebec-bridge-collapse-1.667097 "Mohawks join memorial for 75 who died in 1907 Quebec Bridge collapse"], 29 August 2007</ref>

==  Corrosion and maintenance  ==
[[File:Pont_de_Québec_vu_du_Parc_aquarium_du_Québec.JPG|thumb|The bridge seen from the [[Parc Aquarium du Québec]]]]

In 2015, the Quebec Bridge was included in a list of the 10 most endangered historic sites in Canada by the National Trust of Canada because of long-overdue paint and repair work.

{{blockquote|It is estimated that 60% of the bridge is covered in corrosive rust. Since its transfer to CN Rail by the federal government in 1993, maintenance and restoration programs for this historic infrastructure have been cut back. In November 2014, the City of Quebec, City of Lévis, Province of Quebec, and Government of Canada joined in pledging half the estimated $200 million cost of repainting and restoring the Quebec Bridge. To date, CN Rail has not agreed to match this amount. CN Rail has deemed the proposed sanding and restorative paint work to be "aesthetic" and therefore unnecessary, a categorization supported by a ruling of the Superior Court of Quebec.<br />The corrosion, accelerated by exposure to extremes of weather, will ultimately result in the loss of the bridge's mechanical properties—and potentially, its structural integrity as well.<ref name=selm>{{cite journal
 | last = Seim
 | first = Charles
 | date = May 2008
 | title = Why Bridges Have Failed Throughout History
 | journal = Civil Engineering
 | volume = 78
 | issue = 8
 | pages = 64–71, 84–87
 | publisher = American Society of Civil Engineers
 | location = Reston, VA
 | issn = 0885-7024
 | doi = 10.1061/ciegag.0000172
 | url = http://cedb.asce.org/cgi/WWWdisplay.cgi?163656
 | url-access = subscription
 | archive-date = 11 January 2012
 | access-date = 23 February 2013
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120111192212/http://cedb.asce.org/cgi/WWWdisplay.cgi?163656
 | url-status = live
 }}</ref>}}

In May 2016, [[Jean-Yves Duclos]], the Canadian federal cabinet minister in charge of the Quebec region, revealed that a lease agreement between the CN and the federal government indicated that the CN would not be required to pay more than $10 million towards the paint work until the lease expires in 2053. The Canadian government is now proposing to invest $75 million to paint the bridge and is asking the Quebec provincial government to step in and invest an estimated additional $275 million to complete the work. The mayor of Quebec City, [[Regis Labeaume]], accused the federal government of breaching a promise made during the 2015 electoral campaign to act upon the maintenance of the bridge <ref name=cook>{{cite book | author=Cook, Richard J. | url=http://www.goldenwestbooks.com/stations-and-bridges/the-beauty-of-railroad-bridges/ | title=The Beauty of Railroad Bridges in North America – Then and Now | publisher=Golden West Books|location=California | year=1987 | isbn=0-87095-097-5 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602063242/http://www.goldenwestbooks.com/stations-and-bridges/the-beauty-of-railroad-bridges/ | archive-date=2012-06-02 }}</ref>

==Government repurchase==
On 10 May 2024, the Canadian Government and CN announced an agreement for the sale of the bridge for the symbolic sum of $1.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2024-05-09 |title=Ottawa and CN reach agreement to buy back the Pont de Québec |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/pont-de-quebec-ottawa-cn-deal-1.7198617 |access-date=2024-05-11 |work=[[CBC News]] |archive-date=12 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512001551/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/pont-de-quebec-ottawa-cn-deal-1.7198617 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=ICI.Radio-Canada.ca |first=Zone Politique- |title=Rachat du pont de Québec : le CN s'engage à verser 350 M $ sur 50 ans |url=https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2071798/pont-quebec-entente-millions |access-date=2024-05-12 |website=Radio-Canada |date=10 May 2024 |language=fr-ca |archive-date=12 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240512000206/https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2071798/pont-quebec-entente-millions |url-status=live }}</ref> The government committed to spending $1 billion over 25 years on repairs and maintenance. CN and the Quebec government will share ownership of the rails and roadway that cross the bridge.<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 15 May 2024 | url = https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-bridge-deal-cn-1.7204839 | publisher = CBC | date = 15 May 2024 | title = Ottawa to spend $1B on upkeep as it buys back historic Quebec City bridge from CN | archive-date = 15 May 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240515155419/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-bridge-deal-cn-1.7204839 | url-status = live }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of crossings of the Saint Lawrence River]]
* [[List of bridges in Canada]]
*''[[High Steel]]'', a 1966 documentary on Mohawk high steel workers that also documents the 1907 collapse

==References==
{{Reflist}}<!--added under references heading by script-assisted edit-->
* {{cite journal |date=April 1916  |title=Photos of Quebec Bridge|journal=[[World's Work|The World's Work: A History of Our Time]] |volume=XXXI |pages=662–663 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=09_Sr9emceQC&pg=PA662 |author1= Page, Walter Hines |author2= Page, Arthur Wilson |access-date= 2012-01-11 }} <!-- what does this go with? -->

== External links ==
{{commons category-inline|Quebec Bridge}}
* {{in lang|fr}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20070930053819/http://www.pontdequebec.com/page8pont.html Pont de Québec timeline]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110714144348/http://www.mysteriesofcanada.com/Quebec/quebec_bridge_collapse.htm The Collapse of the Quebec City Bridge]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110706183401/http://ironring.ca/ Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050317074738/http://me.queensu.ca/undergraduate/activities/ironring/article.asp The Iron Ring] ([[Internet Archive|archive]])
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19971114185247/http://www.civeng.carleton.ca/ECL/reports/ECL270/images/p62.gif Photo Centre Span Collapse]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131216021610/http://matdl.org/failurecases/Bridge_Collapse_Cases/Quebec_Bridge Article on "Bridge Collapse Cases/Quebec Bridge" at MatDL]
* {{Structurae|id=20000479|title=Quebec Bridge (1907)}}
* {{Structurae|id=20000480|title=Quebec Bridge (1917)}}
* [http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=c9d109e96c13749ea07c9e1ceebe1719 3D model] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111191829/http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=c9d109e96c13749ea07c9e1ceebe1719 |date=2012-01-11 }}

{{Quebec City}}
{{NHSC}}

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Bridges
|place           = [[St. Lawrence River]]
|bridge          = Quebec Bridge
|bridge signs    = [[File:qc175.svg|25px]]<br />[[Quebec Route 175]]<br />[[Canadian National Railway]]<br />[[Via Rail]]
|upstream        = [[Pierre Laporte Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = [[File:Quebec Autoroute 73.svg|25px]]<br />[[Quebec Autoroute 73]]
|downstream      = [[Île d'Orléans Bridge]]
|downstream signs = [[File:qc368.svg|25px]]<br />[[Quebec Route 368]]}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Canadian National Railway bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Railway bridges in Quebec]]
[[Category:Bridges in Quebec City]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1917]]
[[Category:Cantilever bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Truss bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Road-rail bridges]]
[[Category:Bridge disasters in Canada]]
[[Category:Bridge disasters caused by engineering error]]
[[Category:Bridge disasters caused by construction error]]
[[Category:Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Saint Lawrence River]]
[[Category:National Historic Sites in Quebec]]
[[Category:Transport in Lévis, Quebec]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Lévis, Quebec]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Quebec]]
[[Category:1919 establishments in Quebec]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:1907 disasters in Canada]]
[[Category:1916 disasters in Canada]]