The Jacques-Cartier Bridge has style. It is said that more than 43,000,000 cars go through it each year. As says our national anthem, its "history is an epic". It began in 1874 when some important citizens saw the need for a bridge between Montreal and the South shore. Because of lack of money, the project did not realize.
Finally, in 1925, began the construction of the bridge that was called at that time "South Shore Bridge." In 1930, at the moment of its inauguration, the name was changed for “Havre Bridge” because it had been built with the support of the Commissioners du Havre. The year 1934 being the four hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Canada, because of the popular pressure, the Governor of Canada gave the bridge its current name, Jacques-Cartier Bridge. Until 1962, the travelers had to pay to cross the bridge.
Originally, and according to the plans, the bridge was not supposed to end near De Lorimier Street but rather near the Bordeau Street. But the laws of expropriation were not like the present ones. So a certain owner of a SOAP factory, Hector Barsalou(to keep his name secret !) refused to sell his land. So a curve has been added to the bridge. A capsule containing 59 objects was placed in the cornerstone built into the pillar near the place called “au pied du courant”.
On a Québec trip by bus, the driver was telling to two beautiful girls seated in the first seats that Montreal had four Eiffel Towers placed at the top of the main span of the bridge. He added: "They were given as a gift by France for the Montreal “world exhibition” in 1967. That’s a legend. On the original plans, the small towers already existed. Anyway, the legend is lovely...
