Halfway River Bridge

DAR work crews repair the Hantsport Aboiteau, August 1971, photographed by Bill Linley.

Located just east of Hantsport, the bridge crossed the Halfway River (so named because in early times it marked the halfway point between Grand Pre and Windsor) where it meets the larger Avon River.^[1] The Halfway River is small but has deep tidal estuary surrounded by wide tidal marshes where it is crossed by the DAR and this crossing required regular upgrades and repair throughout the history of the DAR.

The river was first crossed by the DAR in 1869 with a 1,800 foot trestle and a covered wooden truss bridge.^[2] By 1873, an engineer's report indicated that the trestle was 640 feet long (32 trestle spans, each each 20 feet long) and the bridge was a 150-foot long wooden truss bridge. The report by engineer Alexander MacNab noted that the main span was weak and needed a pier in the middle and that many of the pile trestles were gradually being replaced by trestle bents.^[3] The wooden bridge was replaced by a causeway with an aboiteau in 1879.^[4]

By 1969, most of the trestle approach had been filled and converted to an embankment leaving 40-foot-long pile trestle over a spillway on the east side of a causeway at the Halfway River over an aboiteau with three 60-inch corrugated metal pipes.^[5] DAR crews had to fill in a major washout at the Halfway River bridge in August 1971.^[6]

The railway ceased to be used in 2011. The causeway slowly began to erode and the aboiteau gates ceased functioning. Erosion increased dramatically in September 2017 and a large washout occurred in the causeway, leaving the rails hanging in mid-air and exposing the pile trestle work of older versions of the bridge.^[7] The Windsor and Hantsport Railway put up barricades and removed the hanging rails on February 7, 2018,^[8] but the washout grew leading to extensive tidal flooding of the formerly protected Halfway River Valley which raised fears about erosion and flooding of roads and power lines. The flooding has led to a dispute between the Province of Nova Scotia and the Windsor and Hantsport Railway over who owns the aboiteau and who bears the responsibility for the washout.^[9]

Gallery

Construction work at the Halfway River Bridge in Hantsport, with the town in the background, date unknown.
Flying Bluenose at Hantsport crossing the Halfway River Bridge, possibly with coach No. 27 and baggage car No. 46 circa 1920.
No. 8133 and ballast cars repairing washout at the Halfway River Bridge at Hantsport, CKF paper plant in background, August 1971.
Halfway River Bridge washout at Hantsport with DAR tracks hanging in midair over the eroding causeway over the former aboiteau, December 2017.
Halfway River Bridge washout at Hantsport with DAR tracks hanging over the former aboiteau and dyke remains, December 2017.
Halfway River Bridge washout at Hantsport, with collapsed aboiteau remnants of older bridge structure, April 28, 2018.
Halfway River Bridge looking west at Hantsport, close up of bridgework remains, Aug. 13, 2018
Halfway River Bridge washout at Hantsport and the bridge remains, August 13, 2018.
Halfway River Bridge at Hantsport, east side with wash out and piles from older bridges, with the CKF paper plant in background, Sept. 15, 2018.