Many Bridges, Many Floods

Bragg Creek bears a history of many bridges, many of them lost to flooding of the Elbow River, and in a different location than today’s bridge.

In the early days, most of the activity in the area was on the west side of the river, (not the east, as it is today) mainly due to Jake Fullerton’s homestead location (NW ¼ 12-23-5W5) and his entrepreneurial spirit. Between 1913 and 1940, Jake and wife Annie established the Circle 5 Ranch (Elkana) and the Round Hall, supported the development of St. Mary’s boys camp (Cadicasu), rented cabins along the river, and subdivided most of the land on both sides of the river.

 

The first bridge across the Elbow River, to connect to the road to Calgary or Priddis, was built in 1913 and was constructed out of poles that spanned the river at a narrow point, a few yards upstream from the confluence of the Bragg Creek. The bridge was washed away a couple years later and a second built about a quarter mile upstream, also of pole construction. There were two river channels, requiring two separate structures between a wide gravel bar. These bridges were lost in a spring flood in 1916.

By this time the government had realized the need for a proper bridge across the Elbow. To start the process, four horse and mule teams hauled timbers through axle-deep mud from Calgary on Twin Bridges Road (Highway 8).

 

A disastrous flood occurred in 1932 and, with crunching and grinding of the hard-travelled timbers, this bridge was also swept away. Until 2013, this flood was the largest recorded on the Elbow and had the widest impact on property and residents

Engineers then decided a better place for a new steel bridge was a mile downstream where the piers could be built on solid rock. The steel structure was replaced in 1986 and stands today as Bragg Creek’s sole bridge.

So how many floods has Bragg Creek experienced? The research suggests the term flood might be a bit of a misnomer. The Elbow River rises so there is flooding most years. Records indicate that significant flooding or “events” occurred in 1916, 1923 (taking out the Ranger Station bridge) 1929, 1932, 1948, 1963, 1967, 1968, 1995, 2005 and 2013.

With all this flooding, it took conviction to attempt any structure across the river, but many remember the walking bridges Jack Elsdon used to build over the Elbow. These bridges allowed Creekers and tourists to connect between the Trading Post and the Round Hall on the other side of the water.

So, there we have it: over our history, many bridges had to be built to connect the community and flooding has often tested them.

Photo Credits:
“Elbow River Bridge 1913”, photo courtesy of Marie Nylund, (Mary Muncaster-Burby Collection).
“First Government bridge and First (L) and Third Store (R)”, July 1929, Our Foothills: Friesen 1975, page 414.
“Bragg Creek Bridge 1950”, photo courtesy of Marie Nylund.
“2013 Flood, Elbow River”, photographer Doug Sephton.