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Past stories Living off-the-grid New Brunswick's Saint John River Ontario's Bruce Trail Canadian Ski Marathon Elk Island National Park Rallying for rallysport Montreal - Circus city Beluga Bytes Dawson - a musical adventure Bald Eagle Confederation Trail Boning up on the badlands Ukkusiksalik National Park Geocaching Discover Cypress Hills Saint Joseph's Oratory A walk through Stanley Park Sudbury's science centre Acadia continues Toronto's underground world

When Prince Edward Island joined Confederation in 1873, the Government of Canada became responsible for bringing the province into the fold of the mainland by providing continuous year-round transportation between the island and the mainland. This proved to be a costly and difficult obligation to maintain over the years.

After much debate and protest, in 1988 it was decided that Confederation Bridge would be built. Construction of the 12.9 kilometre long toll bridge began in the fall of 1993, and the bridge opened in the spring of 1997 and cost one billion dollars. It connects Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island (map) with the mainland at Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick (map) and is a continuation of the Trans-Canada Highway.

Confederation Bridge is the longest bridge to span ice-covered waters in the world. The bridge, which TK 130 feet above the water, was built with specially designed conical ice shields on the pier shafts that lift the ice and force it to break under its own weight. Ice exists in the Northumberland Strait (map), which the bridge lies over, for five months of the year.