In 1908, this 150-foot long steel through truss bridge was built over the Souris River at Wawanesa, in what is now the Municipality of Oakland-Wawanesa, using Plan No. 727 designed by engineer Archibald McGillivray for the Algoma Steel Company of Winnipeg. Described in some sources as the “Black Bridge,” it was closed to all but pedestrian traffic at the time of a visit in early 2013.
Postcard view of steel through truss bridge #727 over the Souris River (no date) by Ernest Jerrett
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2014-0048
Steel through truss bridge #727 over the Souris River (May 2013)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Steel through truss bridge #727 over the Souris River (August 2020)
Source: George Penner
Steel through truss bridge #727 over the Souris River (May 2021)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.59357, W99.68876
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Archibald McGillivray (1874-1936)
Manitoba historic bridges inventory book (1920s), copy in possession of Gordon Goldsborough on loan from David Ennis.
Sipiweske: 100 Years of Wawanesa and District by Wawanesa and District History Book Committee, 1988.
Pioneering in Highway Bridges for the Province of Manitoba and the Engineering Profession by George Alois De Pauw, 1993, page 32.
We thank Rose Kuzina and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 30 September 2021
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