Nass River Bridge

Map showing Meziadin Radio site, Bell Irving Site, Tintina Creek, Hanna Creek, Surprise Creek,
Meziadin Highways Camp, Fish Ladder, and Meziadin Junction

Completed in October 1971, July 8, 1972 the Nass River Bridge was officially opened, which tied Stewart Meziadin area to Kitwanga, and Highway 16

2-80 ft Glue Laminated Douglas Fir Girders, and 4-93 ft Glue Laminated Douglas Fir Girders were used in it's construction.
The girders were spliced together to span the river.

Originally the Meziadin site was accessed, by road, via the Stewart-Meziadin 40 mile gravel road, then the 1 mile Fisheries road to the site.
The Fisheries road ran 9 miles, to the Fish Ladders, at the Nass River.
Later on this 10 miles road was tied into the new Nass Bridge, all gravel, and one lane, with few pullouts.
First there was a Chev Panel, replaced by unit #1140, (I think?), an International Panel truck.
This truck was brought up from Vancouver by Don Parr and Stan Miller, in the winter of 1968.
They got as far as Kamloops, and called up in the morning, saying their new truck wouldn’t start. It was 40 deg below F!

In the mid 60’s you would stay at Nass Camp, if working at Aiyansh, or de-load the Snowmachine, and go to the Tee-Pee at Brown Bear.
This machine was hauled up on the old equipment tilt trailer. This trailer was used prior to getting the 5th wheel trailer, the flat deck truck, (single axle) then double axle.

As logging progressed, Johnny Williams Camp was started and the road was kept open to the Cranberry Junction.

Birke Brookbank crossing the New Nass Bridge in May 1972 via Thiokol Spryte Snowmachine

The Nass bridge was built by Engineering Department of BC Forestry in 1971,
Project Engineer Malcolm Hunt
The first 2 winters, the road wasn’t plowed. We had to snowcat north from the Cranberry Junction, south of Brown Bear.
Imagine today not plowing Highway 37!

Prior to the Nass River Bridge being built, Forestry built a Wire Rope Suspension Foot Bridge, just to the right of this picture.
It was in operation for about a year before the bridge was built and it was removed.
There is a picture of it's construction on the Terrace Library History Page.
I remember one day packing groceries and test gear over this suspension bridge, when I was out in the middle of this very long span,
Brookbank started to jump on the bridge and get it bouncing. I was forced to drop the box I was carrying on the wooden deck and hang on.
Thought I was a goner that day! Scared the hell right out of me!

Speaking of scaring the hell out of a person, the 2 pictures from Brian Wolfe below tell another scary story.

Again when the bridge and road was not plowed, the snow piled up and was higher, and overhanging the sides.
We had a Thiokol, shown in picture above, cross the bridge, thinking they were in the center of the bridge,
but as you can see from the scrape marks in bottom picture, the tracks dug into the wood.
I don't think they broke that top rail, I think that was grader damage.

Those marks were made by the grouser bars on the Thiokol Tracks, story above.

Summer of 2019 this bridge has been removed and replaced with a new 2 lane bridge.

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