The Arthur Laing Bridge photo essay is the last in a three-part series by Angus McIntyre on Fraser River crossings. The photos were taken on Angus’s Konica Autoreflex T Camera. The Arthur Laing Bridge opened to traffic on 27 August 1975.
December 31, 1972 was an unseasonably warm Sunday and Angus McIntyre jumped on his bike and headed to the Fraser River. He spent the day documenting the construction of the Knight Street Bridge and the Arthur Laing Bridge – the two Fraser river crossings that would replace the Fraser Street swing span bridge from Vancouver to Mitchell Island and the fixed trestle bridge to Lulu Island.
By Angus McIntyre
First Nations peoples travelled by boat across the Fraser River for thousands of years. As Vancouver grew and developed, the remote community of Eburne (now Marpole) needed a way to cross the river to Sea Island and Richmond, and a hand cranked cable scow filled that need until a swing span bridge was built in 1889.
The 1954 view (above) shows the swing span Marpole Bridge to Sea Island which started at the foot of Hudson Street. The Eburne Saw Mills (Canadian Forest Products) to the west of Hudson Street in Marpole is the site of the present day TransLink Vancouver Transit Centre. The Eburne Bridge (bottom of photo) connected Sea Island to Lulu Island.
After years of barge damage and delayed trips to the Vancouver Airport, the Marpole Swing Span bridge (above) was replaced with the new Oak Street Bridge in 1957. The last B.C. Electric interurban from Marpole to Steveston ran in February of 1958 across the bridge in the distance.
This Al Beaton cartoon from The Province in 1955 shows the skipper of the Marpole Dispatcher painting another wrecked bridge span onto his vessel.
Marpole Bus Loop:
In 1972, the Marpole bus loop (above) was adjacent to the former B.C. Electric interurban station. By the time the Arthur Laing bridge opened three years later, over 60 stores in Marpole closed and eventually the business area moved to Granville and 70th Avenue. One letter writer to the Vancouver Sun said it was like a “ghost town.” You can see smoke from the Eburne Saw Mills.
The same location 40 years later shows the off and on ramps of the Arthur Laing Bridge, with some new buildings to the north. The Arthur Laing Bridge was named after a Vancouver Member of Commons of Canada.
This 1972 view looking west on SW Marine Drive at Hudson shows open space cleared of stores and buildings expropriated for the new “Hudson Street Bridge,” as shown on the sign.
Three Brill trolleys arrive at Marpole bus loop. There was little protection for pedestrians from the open pit construction. Traffic control at Hudson and Marine is a single flashing red/amber light above the centre of the intersection.
Moray Channel Swing Span Bridge:
Travel to Sea Island from Lulu Island was on the 1957 Moray Channel swing span bridge shown here, and until the Dinsmore Bridge opened in 1969 it was the only access to the airport from Richmond. Passengers missed flights due to bridge openings or span problems. On the right is the Sea Island Connector that opened for westbound traffic in 2001. A recent study indicates the Moray Bridge is at the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced.
This aerial view of the Arthur Laing Bridge (above) shows the new access lanes for Richmond traffic that opened in 1986. It was designed to provide direct access to the airport from the City of Vancouver.
The Vancouver Airport opened on Sea Island in 1931, and until 1957 the main Vancouver access was by way of the Marpole Bridge. (The other option to Richmond was the Fraser Street Bridge, another swing span.) The Moray Bridge opened on the same day in 1957 as the Oak Street Bridge, adding a few extra kilometres to the trip. But because it was a swing span bridge, as before, residents were still subject to delays to get to the airport. This problem was finally resolved with the opening of the Arthur Laing Bridge on August 27, 1975.
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11 comments on “Crossing the Fraser River – Part 3”
Very interesting. The old photos are so cool. 1972 seems like the dark ages. LOL We rarely went to the airport in those days, except to pick up visitors once in a blue moon. My mom is 90 this year and she has NEVER traveled on a plane. I’ve taken a few plane trips, but it isn’t my favourite mode of transportation…
Loved the old photos. Writing was great as always.
very interesting…quite amazing the flashing red light and bus area with the open pit…. I wonder if any pedestrian ever fell into it.
Well, the Fraser Arms Hotel pub was just up the street from the pit, so that did occur to me.
Thank you very much Angus MacIntyre and Eve Lazarus for the interesting Vancouver history of the bridge’s in Vancouver . The photograph’s help me get oriented.
Who was the architect who designed it
Quite sad to see businesses wiped out at the hands of government. I’d like to know more about the days when Marpole was a standalone town on the river, before the redevelopment. I bet other river towns, like Hammond, could use your deft touch as well.
It’s probably a typo, but the Dinsmore Bridge opened in 1969, not 1989.
https://www.proquest.com/docview/2240771430/954A0162786C4A3FPQ
Nice catch David! Have fixed it.
It was the Arthur Lang Bridge which displaced the Marpole stores. All of the north side, Hudson to Granville was removed, and the treck up Granville to 70th. Oak bridge had little effect on the SW Marine stores. Many of the named stores that moved still in operation at 70th/Granville, notably Safeway, the banks, Tad’s Sporting goods. Baird Drugs which was at Montcalm opened as the druggest in the Safeway. The south side remained unchanged, with Marpole Theatre still there as Metro.
Typo: Arthur Laing Bridge/Opened … August 27, 1975
“Although the bridge opened to traffic on 27 August 1975, Otto Lang, Minister of Transport, performed the official opening of the $23m crossing in May 1976. On hand were Premier Bill Bennett, Gil Blair, mayor of Richmond, Art Phillips, mayor of Vancouver, and widow Geraldine Laing, who unveiled a plaque.”
Arthur Laing Bridge – Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Arthur_Laing_Bridge