The bridge consisted of a huge rectangular tube, similar to that spanning the Menai Straits, carrying a single track. From end to end it measured 6,592 feet by 16 feet wide, 18 feet in height, and weighed 9,044 tons. It was divided into 25 spans, 24 of which were of 242 feet each, while one was of 330 feet. The piers were built massively in masonry, the stone being obtained from quarries in convenient proximity. The ironwork was prepared in England, each piece being marked carefully for its position in the structure. The bridge had a gradual slope upwards from either bank to the centre, where the height from the bed of the river to the top of the tube was 108 feet. For its erection 2,250,000 feet of timber were required in connection with the temporary work, the piers and abutments demanded the use of some 3,000,000 feet of masonry, and 2,500,000 rivets were used to secure the component parts of the ironwork together. In addition to the bridge proper, some 2,500 feet of approaches on either side had to be fashioned, so that the total length of the work was 9,144 feet. The contracted price for the structure was £1,400,000, or $7,000,000, but it was completed for £100,000 ($500,000) less. Of this total the masonry and temporary work absorbed,£800,000, or $4,000,000, and the ironwork £400,000 ($2,000,000). [Illustration: A VIEW OF THE IRON TUBE, 2,290 FEET IN LENGTH AND 23 FEET IN DIAMETER] [Illustration: THE 2000 H.P. ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES HAULING THE “INTERNATIONAL LIMITED” THROUGH THE TUBE The “link that binds Two Great Nations,” the St. Clair Tunnel, under the St. Clair River.] While the work was in progress the railway company found increasing traffic, as the sections of completed line were opened, so emphasised the urgency of securing through communication across the river that the contractors were approached, and a bonus of £60,000 ($300,000) was offered to them if they would complete the work a year earlier than was stipulated in the contract. The engineers redoubled their efforts, and on December 17, 1859, the great bridge was opened, though the official ceremony took place five months later, when King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, opened the Victoria Bridge, as it was christened, in the name of Queen Victoria, during his visit to the Dominion. Stephenson died before his great work was completed. For a quarter of a century or more it constituted one of the sights of the North American continent. As the country became more settled and the volume of traffic flowing to and fro across the river increased, the railway experienced a very great difficulty in handling it over a single line. At last the inadequacy reached such a point that some improvement was imperative. A second bridge would have been too costly, and after considerable reflection it was decided to replace the tubular bridge by one of larger dimensions.