Memramcook River Bridge
A new bridge on the Trans-Canada Highway replaces the 1960 Memramcook River Bridge. The new bridge has three-spans of concrete beams which carry Route 2 westbound traffic over the Memramcook River and the CN Rail line in the Parish of Dorchester. The old bridge was then taken down.
Highway 16
This highway has been part of the New Brunswick highway network since the Canadian National Railways ferry service from Cape Tormentine, NB to Borden-Carlton, PEI began accepting automobiles in the 1920s.
Route 16 begins in Aulac, with a T-intersection with the Aulac Road, which was the original alignment of Route 2 until the current 4-lane alignment opened in the early 1990s. About 0.3 km (0.2 mi) east is the Route 16 cloverleaf interchanges with Route 2.
Route 16 continues east as an uncontrolled access 2-lane highway passing through several communities in rural Westmorland County, running parallel to the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border.
There have been three major realignments to the route:
- 7 km (4.3 mi) bypass of Baie Verte and Port Elgin along with the Port Elgin Rotary, built in the 1960s as part of the Trans-Canada Highway upgrades
- 4 km (2.5 mi) bypass of Bayfield between Malden and Cape Tormentine also constructed in the 1960s
- 7 km (4.3 mi) realignment between Malden and Cape Jourimain constructed in 1997 as part of the Confederation Bridge project, which shifted the eastern terminus of the highway from the Marine Atlantic ferry terminal at Cape Tormentine to the Confederation Bridge which off Cape Jourimain.
Borden Carleton & Confederation Bridge
The Confederation Bridge was built as a permanent year-round road link and opened in 1997, so the ferry service was closed after 70 years. All the vessels were transferred to other routes or sold off, and the wharves, and other shore facilities were decommissioned and dismantled.
After the completion of the Confederation Bridge, and the end of ferry service, Borden’s ferry workers left the town or retired. The town used federal “adjustment funding” to expand the town’s industrial park to accommodate new manufacturing interests, which now are the town’s largest employers. These include Master Packaging (subsidiary of J.D. Irving Limited), Silliker Glass ( a glass supplier and Kawneer Aluminum fabricator), and Transcontinental Printing (division of Transcontinental Media).
The Dutch engineering company that built the Confederation Bridge reinvested some of their profits into Kicking Horse Mountain and Resort in Golden, British Columbia, later sold to Calgary oil billionaire Murray Edwards.
Northumberland Strait Shoreline
Tryon Marshes
The largely freshwater Tryon marshes were dredged and the black ooze (called “mussel mud”) as applied to area farmers’ fields. Marches further inland were dyked and converted to hay production. The remaining marshlands provide habitat for migratory birds. The variety of vegetation along the water’s edge reflects the frequency of flooding form salt water.
Crapaud: Westmoreland River
Crapaud (“Kra-po”) is named for the French descriptive phrase describing the Westmoreland River as the river of toads, “riviere aux crapauds”.
Bonshaw: Bonshaw Hills
The Bonshaw Hills, which are composed of sandstone and shale, rise 130 metres (400 feet) above sea level run diagonally across the island. While the soils and streams can support agriculture, the hills have remained forested becuase its too hilly to plough. On the hills, you’ll see many hardwoods including maple, beech, and birch, while in the moist valleys you will find mostly balsam fir and hemlock softwoods.
Charlottetown
Within Charlottetown, Route 1 used to cross the North River bridge on Capital Drive into West Royalty and then into town on University Avenue, northwest on Brighton Rd/ Euston St, to downtown, an short job southwest on Great George Street, and then on Grafton St to cross the Hillsborough River over to Stratford.
Charlottetown Perimeter Highway
In 2010, the Charlottetown Perimeter Highway was built, and Route 1 was then transferred from its old routing along University Avenue and Grafton Street onto the new highway.
The Perimeter Highway crosses the North River, jogs north along Upton Road then east onto the Charlottetown Perimeter Highway and wraps around the city centre before turning south and crossing the Hillsborough River on the Hillsborough Bridge into Stratford.
Other Resources
More Trans-Canada Highway History
Trans-Canada Highway Itinerary Map
Use mouse to drag/move map. Click on “+” or “–” to zoom in or out. “Satellite” combines map & photo.