Historic Sites of Manitoba: Valley River Suspension Bridge (Valley RIver, RM of Dauphin)

A small suspension bridge over the Valley River in the Rural Municipality of Dauphin was constructed using the concrete abutments of a former, more substantial bridge, probably dating from around 1920. After the original bridge was destroyed or removed, a downstream ford crossing enabled people to cross during periods of low river flow. When the river was flooding and the ford crossing was deeply submerged, the suspension bridge enabled local children to cross the river to catch a school bus to Dauphin. Users through the years had carved their initials in its wooden walkway.

In late 2017, the suspension bridge was removed by the municipality, citing public safety concerns.

The former Valley River Suspension Bridge (June 2016) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Concrete abutment for the original bridge on which the present bridge sat (June 2016) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Aerial view of the former Valley River Suspension Bridge, with a ford crossing in the foreground (June 2016) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Location (lat/long): N51.24270, W100.09844 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Senkiw Suspension Bridge (Municipality of Emerson-Franklin)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Oldenburg Suspension Bridge (RM of Whitemouth)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba

Sources:

We thank Jo Stokotelny and Yvonne Lozinski for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 10 March 2018

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