Captain William Moore Bridge
crayon, ink and watercolour
©2024 Charlene Brown
This asymmetric single-pylon cable-stayed bridge is an impressive
example of earthquake engineering. It spans the Moore Creek Gorge which flows
along an active seismic fault line on the Klondike Highway about 27 km north of
Skagway. To minimize potential bridge damage from earthquake movements along
the fault line, the bridge was cantilevered, with anchors only at the south
end.
Before the bridge was built in 1976, Whitehorse YT was only
accessible from Skagway by the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad. Over the
decades, heavy ore truck traffic weakened the bridge, and in 2019 it was
replaced. The 1976 cable-stayed bridge was repurposed as a pedestrian viewpoint
and historic site.
