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GOVERNMENT OF CANADA DESIGNATES CANSO CAUSEWAY AS A NATIONAL HISTORIC EVENT OF CANADA
PORT HASTINGS, NOVA SCOTIA, August 13, 2005 -- On behalf of Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Rodger Cuzner, MP for Cape Breton-Canso, announced today that the building of the Canso Causeway linking Cape Breton Island and mainland Nova Scotia has been designated as a national historic event of Canada.
“The building of the Canso Causeway did more than connect Cape Breton to Nova Scotia and Canada,” said Minister Dion. “It created economic opportunities and employment by creating a safe rail and road link between the industrial heartland of the Maritime provinces and Canada, and by allowing the free-flow of goods and people.”
“Prior to the construction of the causeway, ice frequently delayed the shipment of the Island’s coal and steel to markets on the mainland and the shipment of manufactured goods back to Cape Breton, as well as passenger ferries,” said Mr. Cuzner. “This created economic uncertainty in the region and a feeling of being cut off from the rest of Canada. The Canso Causeway created a symbolic link between Canada and Cape Breton that continues to this day.”
Before the Canso Causeway opened on August 13, 1955 – exactly 50 years ago today – the only way to travel between Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia was by boat or ferry.
Establishing a fixed link between Cape Breton and Nova Scotia across the deep and fast-flowing waters of the Strait of Canso posed a complex challenge to the engineers of the day, and the building of the 1.3-kilometre-long Canso Causeway is still recognized as a significant civil engineering achievement. Believed to be the deepest man-made causeway in the world when it was built, at an average depth of 60 metres, the causeway is 24-metres-wide at its top, above the waters of the Strait, and extends to a width of 250 metres at its broadest point on the ocean floor.
The causeway was constructed between 1952 and 1955 by the federal Department of Transport in cooperation with the Nova Scotia Department of Public Works and Canadian National Railways at a cost of nearly $20 million. More than 10.16 million tonnes of rock fill, mined from quarries at Cape Porcupine, Nova Scotia, were used in its construction. Its design included a concrete canal and a 93.9-metre, 1,544-tonne swing bridge.
In addition to linking Cape Breton with the mainland, the construction of the causeway had the unanticipated effect of making the Strait of Canso ice-free and a significant deep-water port. It has also had an important economic impact on the region, contributing to the development of oil refineries, a pulp-and-paper plant, and a heavy water plant, as well as to population growth.
Created in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Minister of the Environment about the national historic significance of places, persons and events that have marked Canada’s history. The placement of a commemorative plaque represents an official recognition of their historic value. It is one means of educating the public about the richness of our cultural heritage, which must be preserved for present and future generations.
Information:
Brigitte Caron
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister
of the Environment
(819) 997-1441
Carol Whitfield
Field Unit Superintendent
Cape Breton Field Unit
Parks Canada
(902) 733-3500
“The building of the Canso Causeway did more than connect Cape Breton to Nova Scotia and Canada,” said Minister Dion. “It created economic opportunities and employment by creating a safe rail and road link between the industrial heartland of the Maritime provinces and Canada, and by allowing the free-flow of goods and people.”
“Prior to the construction of the causeway, ice frequently delayed the shipment of the Island’s coal and steel to markets on the mainland and the shipment of manufactured goods back to Cape Breton, as well as passenger ferries,” said Mr. Cuzner. “This created economic uncertainty in the region and a feeling of being cut off from the rest of Canada. The Canso Causeway created a symbolic link between Canada and Cape Breton that continues to this day.”
Before the Canso Causeway opened on August 13, 1955 – exactly 50 years ago today – the only way to travel between Cape Breton and mainland Nova Scotia was by boat or ferry.
Establishing a fixed link between Cape Breton and Nova Scotia across the deep and fast-flowing waters of the Strait of Canso posed a complex challenge to the engineers of the day, and the building of the 1.3-kilometre-long Canso Causeway is still recognized as a significant civil engineering achievement. Believed to be the deepest man-made causeway in the world when it was built, at an average depth of 60 metres, the causeway is 24-metres-wide at its top, above the waters of the Strait, and extends to a width of 250 metres at its broadest point on the ocean floor.
The causeway was constructed between 1952 and 1955 by the federal Department of Transport in cooperation with the Nova Scotia Department of Public Works and Canadian National Railways at a cost of nearly $20 million. More than 10.16 million tonnes of rock fill, mined from quarries at Cape Porcupine, Nova Scotia, were used in its construction. Its design included a concrete canal and a 93.9-metre, 1,544-tonne swing bridge.
In addition to linking Cape Breton with the mainland, the construction of the causeway had the unanticipated effect of making the Strait of Canso ice-free and a significant deep-water port. It has also had an important economic impact on the region, contributing to the development of oil refineries, a pulp-and-paper plant, and a heavy water plant, as well as to population growth.
Created in 1919, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada advises the Minister of the Environment about the national historic significance of places, persons and events that have marked Canada’s history. The placement of a commemorative plaque represents an official recognition of their historic value. It is one means of educating the public about the richness of our cultural heritage, which must be preserved for present and future generations.
Information:
Brigitte Caron
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister
of the Environment
(819) 997-1441
Carol Whitfield
Field Unit Superintendent
Cape Breton Field Unit
Parks Canada
(902) 733-3500
Backgrounder associated with this News Release.
