Bridge Series: Provencher Traditional Cache

This cache has been archived.

Stonagal: Picked this one up while on break at work. Lovely walk in the crisp air. This little spot proved reliable over the last couple years. Thanks to all who found it!

More
Hidden : 4/8/2013
Difficulty:
2.5 out of 5
Terrain:
2.5 out of 5

Size: Size: micro (micro)

Join now to view geocache location details. It's free!

Watch

How Geocaching Works
Looking for a different adventure?

Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions in our disclaimer.

Geocache Description:

Approaching this cache from St. Boniface, west over the bridge, will afford the cacher this CO’s favourite panorama in all of Winnipeg.  Limited parking is available along Waterfront Drive.

The Provencher Bridge (look south, past the train bridge) is one of the oldest and, simultaneously, one of the newest bridges in Winnipeg.  It crosses the Red River just north of its confluence with the Assiniboine River (“The Forks”), connecting Downtown Winnipeg with the neighbourhood, and former twin city, of St. Boniface.  It connects Provencher Boulevard to the east, with William Stephenson Way (formerly Water Avenue) and Pioneer Avenue to the west.

The original bridge at the site was built in 1882, replacing a ferry service that had run between Winnipeg and St. Boniface.  The bridge was heavily damaged by ice flows only three days after it opened, and repairs were completed later that year.  At that time, Broadway extended east of Main Street all the way to the Red River, and so the bridge was called the Broadway Bridge.   In 1908, the Canadian National Railway established Union Station at the corner of Broadway & Main, cutting off direct access to the bridge.  (Broadway’s old route lives on today as the pedestrian-only Broadway Promenade and Esplanade Riel.)  In 1918, the first bridge to be called Provencher opened just north of the old Broadway Bridge, resulting in the latter being torn down in 1922.  The Provencher Bridge began carrying streetcars in 1925, and was built with a lift in the middle.  A small brown building along the eastbound lanes housed the lift operator.  The building served as a restaurant until the bridge’s destruction in 2003, long after the lift ceased to operate.



The current Provencher Bridge was built between 2002-03 as part of an ambitious project to expand the grandeur and capacity of the bridge.  The reconstruction added a second span to accommodate vehicle traffic, as well as the addition of a towering pedestrian footbridge running parallel, called the Esplanade Riel.  The bridge’s eastbound lanes were constructed first (in conjunction with the footbridge’s construction).  Once they were completed, the old bridge was demolished to make room for the westbound lanes.  The placement of the Esplanade Riel (the only bridge in North America to feature a restaurant) extends the Broadway Promenade east over the river, effectively recreating the original Broadway Bridge.

The Provencher Bridge and its namesake boulevard are named for Joseph Norbert Provencher, a Catholic missionary who founded a mission in St. Boniface in 1818.  By the time of his death in 1853, he had been made Bishop of St. Boniface and of the North-West, and had facilitated the arrival of the Grey Nuns to the Red River area.

Just downstream from the Provencher Bridge is a black steel bridge (visible from GZ).  This bridge carries the Canadian National Railway’s mainline to and from its terminal at Union Station.  The course of the mainline through flood-prone Winnipeg, instead of the more topographically strategic City of Selkirk to the north, was wrought with political controversy more than a century ago.

This cache is located in Stephen Juba Park, a riverside park east of Waterfront Drive commemorating Winnipeg’s longest-serving mayor (1957-1977).  It is very close to the James Avenue Pumping Station, which the City of Winnipeg uses to record precise water levels when measuring and projecting floods.

Congratulations to missionMode for the FTF!

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Uvtu rabhtu gung vg fubhyq fgnl nobir jngre, gubhtu vg znl abg or npprffvoyr qhevat fcevat sybbqvat.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)


Advertising with Us

Inventory

There are no Trackables in this cache.

View past Trackables

What are Trackable Items?

Bookmark Lists

View all bookmark lists...