Oldest wood trestle in NA saved by public

Years of campaigning and private fund-raising has saved the Kinsol Trestle of the CNR and turned it into a pedestrian bridge on the Trans Canada Trail. The Kinsol is on Vancouver Island and is the oldest free-standing timber structure in North America. Hundreds of people raised $7.5 million to restore the derelict railway trestle from decay and neglect. It runs across the Koksilah River in the Cowichan Valley The timber trestle was built in 1929 to link Victoria to Nootka Sound to transport timber. The last train crossed the crossed the trestle in 1979. More history: In 1911, the Canadian National Pacific Railway dedicated a line on Vancouver Island to connect Victoria to Nootka Sound. By 1918, only 6 km of track had been laid. The Federal government took over the line as part of the CNR and work continued. The steel was finally laid in April 1920. The completed trestle, at 187.6 m long and 38 m high, is the largest Howe truss, bent pile trestle left in the world. The line passes through the Cowichan Valley, which was a bonus for the local logging industry, but never reached Nootka Sound. The last train across the trestle was in May 1979 and the rails were removed in 1983. Neglect and vandalism made it necessary to block access to the trestle even though the trestle is part of the Trans Canada Trail system.