This abandoned Saskatchewan bridge, a concrete arch bridge, also sometimes referred to as a “bowstring arch” bridge, is in southwestern Saskatchewan, just over two kilometers west of Scotsguard. The bridge spans the former line of the Great Western Railway and Notukeu Creek and was once the primary crossing of this coulee for traffic traveling along Highway 13.

The bridge was built sometime in the 1920s or 30s (if you know exactly when, please leave a comment) but the highway was realigned at some point (again, if you know when, please comment) and this bridge was left disconnected and abandoned.







I discovered this bridge while I was perusing the Ghost Towns Canada database. Since it was close to another place I planned to visit, Admiral, Saskatchewan, I decided to pay it a visit.







On Google Earth, you can still see a faint outline of the highway in the adjacent land, but standing here in person, the bridge is the only real sign that traffic once crossed here–a crumbling concrete and re-bar span which points off into a green oblivion, at the nexus of an unending sea of prairie grasses and azure blue sky. I was amazed that I couldn’t pick out the remains of the highway on the surface.

Looking northwest, you can barely see my car at the intersection. The short hike to the bridge from there is about a quarter kilometer.

Normally I would have hiked across a bridge like this and got photos from both ends, but since I was traveling alone, I opted not to cross this bridge in the unlikely event of a collapse.

Photos by Troy Larson, content copyright © 2016 Sonic Tremor Media

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