In 1852 Mr. A.M. Ross, C.E., the engineer of the Victoria Bridge, came to Canada on behalf of English capitalists. He was met at Quebec by Sir John Young who took him to Montreal to inspect the locality for a bridge. Mr. Ross suggested an iron tubular bridge, took soundings and plans of the bridge as designed by him and returned in the fall.
Mr. Robert Stephenson, the consulting engineer, and a son of George Stephenson, the great railway pioneer, came to Montreal in 1853 and at a complimentary dinner, he said:
“I cannot sit down without referring to the all-important subject of a bridge over your magnificent river. Abundance of information was brought over to me in England by my esteemed friend, Ross, during the last visit he paid to that country so that I was able to get a good notion of what the bridge was to be before I came out here.
“I had been here twenty-five years before and the St. Lawrence seemed to be like the sea, and I certainly never thought of bridging it.” On the same occasion he said: “I assure you I appreciate your kindness most amply and one of the proudest days of my life will be that when I am called upon to confer with the engineers of the Grand Trunk Railway on bridging the St. Lawrence.”
The stone for the first pier of the Victoria Bridge was laid on July 22, 1854, by Sir. C.P. Roney, the first secretary of the Grand Trunk, along with Vice President Benjamin Holmes, Mr. James Hodge, the builder, Mr. A.M. Ross, C.E., the engineer, and other gentlemen who were also joined by Lady Roney, Mrs. Hodge and Mrs. Maitland, each taking the trowel and assisting in preparing the mortar board for the first stone in the first pier in the great construction. Of the enormous difficulties in building it and the danger by accidents, a dozen at least having been killed, we say nothing beyond that the contractors had to contend with a rapid stream two miles broad and with enormous shoves of ice.
One of those employed on the construction says: “There were hundreds of men employed—many of them being Indians. The latter manned the rafts that brought the timber down from Nun’s Island, although, of course, it came from the west, at the first go-off. We got our timber from the west and our stone from Pointe Claire.
“The first year’s work was entirely swept away. We had made good progress with the under work and the crib work.
“Hundreds of men had worked all spring, summer and fall. The work was well advanced and the contractors were congratulating themselves that they would be able to fulfill their contract on time; but the ice came down in the winter with a rush and carried everything before it—crib work, material, coffer dams—everything that had been done or set up. The loss was great, but the loss of time was the most important.
“That necessitated another year in the duration of the contract. The latter called for completion in five years. It was now seen that six would be required. But nobody could be blamed, and the contractors set to work with a will, and did the work over again.”