The High Level Bridge has crossed the North Saskatchewan River since 1913. Now the city is preparing to tear into it and one of Edmonton's most quietly beloved summer traditions may not survive the construction intact.
The City of Edmonton completed design work on its High Level Bridge Rehabilitation project in 2026. A construction start date is listed as "to be confirmed" on the city's project page. When work does begin, the upper deck of the bridge where the heritage streetcar runs faces disruption. The city has not confirmed a timeline or what specifically happens to the streetcar route during the rebuild.
The rehabilitation is intended to extend the life of the bridge for another 75 years. Structural assessments completed in 2018 and 2020 flagged deterioration to the main deck, steel trusses, and concrete piers after more than a century of service.
The bridge's long-term future is already mapped out
A City of Edmonton planning document lays out the anticipated schedule for central area bridges over the next 15 years. The High Level Bridge rehabilitation is slated for the current 2023–2026 budget cycle the work now in design. After that, the bridge enters a monitor and maintain phase through the 2030s.
But further down the timeline, the picture changes. The city's schedule shows a replacement for the High Level Bridge anticipated in the 2035–2039 window, with demolition to follow in 2040–2042.
In other words, the rehabilitation now underway is not meant to save the bridge permanently. It buys it roughly another decade of service while the city plans what comes next. Whether a replacement structure would accommodate the streetcar or any heritage transit use has not been determined.
The streetcar running across it right now is over 100 years old
The High Level Bridge Streetcar is operated by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society, an entirely volunteer organization. Restored early 20th century cars including a 1912 St. Louis Car Company streetcar make the crossing between Whyte Avenue in Old Strathcona and Jasper Plaza downtown, with stops along the way. It runs Victoria Day through Thanksgiving and carries over 90,000 passengers a year. Tickets are bought from the conductor on board. No app, no advance booking.
The bridge itself has a stranger history than most Edmontonians know
Construction started August 14, 1910. The first CPR passenger train crossed on June 2, 1913. The first streetcar followed ten weeks later, on August 11, 1913. The structure cost more than $2 million to build, used nearly 1.4 million rivets and roughly one million feet of steel across its 755-metre span, and rose 49 metres above the river at its highest point.
The road deck was never part of the original plan. The Town of Strathcona pushed for it during negotiations. What the CPR had intended as a railway bridge ended up carrying four modes of transport simultaneously rail, streetcar, automobile, and pedestrian a combination that was unique in Canada at the time.
The CPR transferred ownership to the City of Edmonton in 1994. The bridge is protected under both a municipal historic designation and Alberta's Historical Resources Act.
The streetcar disappeared once before
Edmonton shut down its entire streetcar system on September 2, 1951. The tracks across the bridge were eventually removed. But the original CPR rail line and the overhead wire poles were never taken down an oversight that turned out to matter. When the Edmonton Radial Railway Society was founded in 1980 and began restoring heritage service, that surviving infrastructure was still there. Museum streetcar service across the bridge restarted in 1997. An extension to Jasper Avenue opened in 2005.
No one has confirmed what happens next
The city's project page describes the rehabilitation as work to enhance safety, accessibility, and usability. The city has been working with the High Level Line Society as part of the planning process. Whether the streetcar suspends operations for one season or several or whether the upper deck gets reconfigured has not been announced.
The 2026 season is underway. The streetcar runs Thursday through Monday until Labour Day on September 7, then Friday through Sunday through Thanksgiving on October 12. Private charters are also available for weddings and events.
Questions about the project can be directed to the City of Edmonton at highlevelbridge@edmonton.ca.
This story will be updated when a construction start date is confirmed.
SOURCES:
City of Edmonton — High Level Bridge Rehabilitation (edmonton.ca)
Edmonton Radial Railway Society — High Level Bridge history and 2026 schedule (edmontonstreetcars.ca)
City of Edmonton / Executive Committee — High Level Bridge Lifecycle Strategy, April 2022
