At a remarkable 85 years old, the Johnson Street Bridge was ready to retire and make way for the next showstopper superstructure. Like the original, the replacement bridge was designed and built as a single-leaf bascule bridge, also known as a drawbridge.

Drawbridges date back to the Medieval times where it was used in smaller scales at the entrance of castles and towers surrounded by moats.

You won’t see a moat surrounding Johnson Street Bridge, but it serves as a beautiful connection spanning the inner harbor of Victoria. 

As an essential bridge in the area, the superstructure was built with three lanes for car traffic, a pedestrian walkway and a multi-use walkway. To give pedestrians an up-close look at how the bridge operates, we also created a pathway through the bridge’s “rings” or bascules.

At its completion, the new bridge is the longest single-leaf bascule bridge in North America. In addition to its remarkable length, it is also known for its one-of-a-kind aesthetic, including its tapered truss sections and geometric features. 

What’s cooler than a bridge? A bridge that moves, but how does it work? Johnson Street Bridge is powered by hydraulic motors and gears that help lift the several ton structure to allow large ships to pass underneath. The bridge is Canada’s largest single-leaf bascule bridge.