Prince of Wales Bridge

The Prince of Wales Bridge is a bridge on the edge of Hintonburg/Mechanicsville connecting Ottawa to Hull. It crosses Lemieux Island and is fenced off. However, there are large holes cut into the fence which make it very easy to explore.

The bridge was constructed in 1880 and named after The Prince of Wales, Albert Edward. It was initially owned by Quebec's Provincial Government, but soon after it's construction they did not have the money to operate it and it was purchased by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1882. The bridge operated for much of the 1900's, but as it was replaced by better routes, it became less and less practical for the CPR and it, as well as the rest of the Canadian Pacific Railway's lines in Ottawa were purchased in the early 2000's for the O-Train project. The bridge however, was never incorporated into the O-Train line and, while maintained by the city, remained abandoned. In 2005 the city talked of converting the bridge into a pedestrian and bicycle route, adding to the Parkway's Path System, but this never came to pass.

Today, the bridge has a small wooden "path" covering the large gaps in the bridge previously there, and wires on each side acting as barriers, but it is still fenced off. It has also been completely painted over by graffiti artists. The bottom of the stone supports can also be accessed by a little bit of climbing, but should be accessed with caution as the water currents in the area are very strong and lead directly into the dam at Chaudiere Falls.