The Norwood Bridge is a five-span, vehicular bridge across the Red River in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The bridge links downtown Winnipeg with the Norwood neighbourhood of Winnipeg. The bridge serves Route 52. The bridge bears a sculpture called River Arch between the east and west spans at the southern landing. The sculpture was commissioned by the City of Winnipeg and was the winning proposal in a national competition by artist Catherine Widgery. The sculpture is made of stone, stainless steel, aluminum, gold leaf, and concrete, and includes an arch and two 40ft columns, each topped with golden sheaves of wheat. The arch bears a pixellated image from a photograph of a harvested field. Each column bears a sculpture of the head of a bison on each side of the base.
Bridge history
The first bridge
The first Norwood bridge was a privately built toll bridge, complete in 1890. It was purchased by the City of St Boniface in 1904. The first Norwood bridge was deemed unsafe in 1929, and negotiations toward construction of a replacement bridge began in the fall of 1930 between the City of Winnipeg and the City of St Boniface.
The second bridge
The original cost estimate for the Norwood Bridge replacement was $620,000, with costs shared between the federal and provincial governments, as well as both the City of Winnipeg and City of St Boniface. The bridge was built in the 1930s, and was eventually demolished by McColman & Sons Demolition Ltd. The bridge had consisted of approximately 1,400 tons of steel and 2,000 meters of concrete.
The current bridge
The construction of the current bridge required relocation of the City of Winnipeg Water Utility pumphouse from the east side of Main Street to the west side of Main street. The Norwood Bridge was constructed by PCL Constructors of Canada. The foundation consists of four cast-in-place piers founded on tremied bedrock footings. The construction of bridge was the first in Winnipeg to use large, flat-topped barges instead of work bridges, and implemented northern ice road building techniques to use large cranes and other construction equipment on the river.. The bridge was opened on 19 October 1999.
