Fonds Fonds 92 - Burrard Inlet Tunnel and Bridge Company fonds

The Burrard Inlet Tunnel and Bridge Company was established in 1892 by a Dominion Statute which gave the company the right to construct a tunnel under the First Narrows and a bridge over Second Narrows, both to be for foot, carriage, street railway and railway purposes. The company was made a publicly owned and controlled corporation in 1910, but plans for the bridge were disrupted by World War I, and the tunnel was never built. After the war new plans evolved, with a contract signed with the Northern Construction Company and J.W. Stewart on 25 July 1923. The bridge was opened to traffic in 1925, with tolls being collected from all using the bridge. Losses in the early years turned to a profit of $13,505.62 in 1928 and $42,020.18 in 1929. But a series of accidents culminating with the "Pacific Gatherer's" collision 19 September 1930, along with the depression, led to the bridge being sold to the Vancouver Harbour Commission in July 1933, which in turn conveyed it to the Crown. In 1951 the bridge was leased to the Canadian National and Canadian Northern Railways for twenty-one years. In 1963 the Canadian National Railway purchased the old Second Narrows Bridge for $1 plus 1964 taxes. The business of the company was terminated, and finally liquidated in April 1966.