Kingston Bridge
Kingston Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Kingston Bridge looking east from The Bottleneck nature area | |
| Carries | 6 lanes throughout, and pedestrians and bicycles |
| Crosses | Zian River |
| Locale | Kingston and Tirzah Tofino, Zian, Zamastan |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 798 m |
| Width | 49 m |
| Height | 154 m (towers), 82 m (roadway) |
| Longest span | 370 m |
| No. of spans | 2 |
| History | |
| Construction end | 1933 |
| Opened | August 26, 1933 |
The Kingston Bridge, sometimes known as the Kingston Crossing, is a suspension bridge spanning the mouth of the Zian River as it empties into the Vallium Inlet, connecting the Kingston neighborhood of northern Tofino to the city of Tirzah, carrying six lanes of Highway One, three northbound and three southbound. The bridge began construction in 1929 and completed in 1933, with a length of 798 meters (2618 feet), and a tower heigh of 154 meters (505 feet), allowing for clearance of shipping vessels transiting the river. A pair of cast concrete crowns, designed by Kossmilian sculptor Valery Makarov, were placed on either side of the south approach to the bridge through The Bottleneck in January 1939.
History
Construction
Earthquakes and upgrades
Safety incidents
Popular culture
The bridge is often used in television broadcasts as a symbol of Tofino; most telecasts of ZSL games played in Tofino show the bridge at least once.
The bridge is the namesake of locally founded film company Kingston Crossing.
The bridge is featured in many movies with settings in or around Tofino, or as a stand-in for other real life or fictional settings. The bridge has a reputation for being the "most destroyed on-screen bridge in cinematic history" for its many appearances in which its destruction plays a part in a movie's plot.
Gallery
Kingston Bridge looking south from Tirzah
