Kiskatinaw River Bridge is an old wooden bridge along the old Alaska highway. It stands strong till today as the proof of an engineering marvel on the Alaska highway corridor. The construction of this bridge began in 1942 in order to replace the temporary crossing built by US while building the pioneer road. It is a 531ft wooden curved bridge with timber truss construction that took nine months to complete. Constructing a curved structure is not the only challenge. Given the heavy cold temperatures they had difficulty to cure the concrete pedestals & piers. So they built an enclosure around it to maintain constant warm temperature.
Due to the development of oil and gas industry, the government had to reroute the highway with better bridge to withstand wider and heavy loads. So, you have to take a little detour off the current Alaska highway to visit this historic Kiskatinaw Bridge.
Today, you can access it through a small loop road (east) at 17.3 miles from Dawson creek. This interesting side road will take you into the Kiskatinaw Provincial park. Also it gives the opportunity to drive through this historic Kiskatinaw bridge. Its is the only and first original timber bridge built along the original Alaska highway that is still in use today. It has a weight limit of 25 tons.
The bridge sits among the scenic setting of nature with a beautiful overlook. You can cross the bridge and pull over on the side if you would like to take a walk. There is also an access road to reach the bottom of the bridge if you prefer.
The Alaska highway visitor center museum at Dawson creek has lot more details about this bridge and its construction. So, make sure to visit it first. This bridge is definitely a must visit spot if you happen to travel along the Alaska highway.
