The Pont de Québec Urban Legend

A cool thing about staying in Sainte-Foy is the opportunity to traverse Boulevard Champlain underneath Pont de Québec on our way to and from the Old Town and our other destinations.

This majestic bridge is a road, rail, and pedestrian bridge built across the Saint-Lawrence River connecting Sainte-Foy and the district of Lévis. With a total length of 987 meters, a height of 95 meters, and a free span of 500 meters from one pillar to the other, it is considered the longest cantilever bridge of its kind in the world. Constructed in 1907 and completed in 1917, it marked its 100th anniversary in September 2017, but prior to its inauguration, it had suffered two tragedies – its collapse in 1907 resulting in the death of 76 workers, including 33 Mohawks, and another one in 1916 that claimed 13 more lives.

Today, it stands tall and proud and at night, when it is illuminated, it makes for a scenic drive back to our hotel.

But did you know that this bridge has a story about an evil engineer?

Legend has it that when work on the bridge resumed after the two aforementioned tragedies, a strange man claiming to be an engineer approached the foreman and offered his professional advice and services. He promised to ensure that no more tragedies will occur until the completion of the bridge. In return, he would like him to pledge the soul of the first person that crosses the completed bridge.

Still shaken by all the accidents the recently happened, and nervous about what is to come, the foreman agreed without thinking. Everything went well until the inauguration. On that day, before the start of the festivities, the foreman saw the strange engineer standing in the middle of the bridge with a knowing smile. It was only then that he remembered his promise and was filled with dread.

Suddenly, he saw a black cat loitering by the foot of the bridge and out of panic, he found himself grabbing the poor animal and hauling it over the bridge towards the engineer. It was said that the engineer and the cat disappeared at that instant and all that was left was a pile of cat hair smeared with blood.

Whether it is true or not, there seems to be a good number of superstitious people who avoid this bridge at all costs from fear of retaliation. They, instead, cross the river through Pont Pierre Laporte, a main span suspension bridge that runs parallel to Pont du Québec.

We took that tale with a grain of salt. No retaliation ever happened to us. And the bridge continues to be busy with traffic.