Edmonton streetcar group hopes to be part of High Level Bridge replacement

As the city eyes demolishing the High Level Bridge, volunteers are wondering what will happen to the High Level Bridge Streetcar.

While the future of the High Level Bridge may be in jeopardy, the Edmonton Radial Railway Society (ERRS) is hoping there is still a place for the city’s historic streetcars going forward.

The first streetcar to cross the High Level Bridge did so on August 11, 1914, just two months after the first Canadian Pacific Railway passenger train did.

Streetcar service came to a halt in 1951, but was revived in 1979 as trips across the High Level Bridge to commemorate Edmonton’s 75th anniversary were successful and garnered the interest of a group which later became the ERRS in 1980.

But the fate of streetcar service over the High Level Bridge is uncertain as the city looks to replace it.

On Monday, the city’s infrastructure committee reviewed a report indicating it would be fiscally irresponsible to rehabilitate the 113-year-old bridge, and that it would be more economical to replace it.

However, if and when it will be demolished is still up in the air.

ERRS president Chris Ashdown said the group has been consulted with by the city.

“We’re not surprised that engineers have found more issues with the bridge than what they originally thought, given the bridge is 113 years old,” said Ashdown. “It is a bit disappointing.”

But Ashdown knows that most outdoor structures have a definite lifespan, and this could very well be the end for the bridge.

“But we’re hoping that in investigations and in design work, maybe there are some alternative uses for the bridge, maybe be able to retain it for another century or so,” he said.

Mayor Andrew Knack and some city councillors have said some of the elements of the High Level should be incorporated into its successor, including tracks to accommodate streetcar service.

“That’s really encouraging for us, because it recognizes the significance of the streetcars,” said Ashdown. “The streetcars are really celebrating the early history of the city and our first public transportation system.”

The ERRS currently has 11 cars in its fleet, which operate at Fort Edmonton Park and on the High Level Bridge from downtown to Old Strathcona. The group aims to eventually restore at least one car of each type that once operated in the city in addition to other significant examples from other cities in Canada.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson