Billings Bridge

Billings Bridge is a bridge over the Rideau River in Ottawa. Bank Street passes over the river by way of this bridge. The bridge was named after Braddish Billings, who settled in this area and established a farm nearby in 1812. The first bridge, originally called Farmers Bridge, was built over the river here in 1830. The current bridge was built in 1916.

Billings Bridge also referred to a village, located south of the river near the bridge, which became part of the city of Ottawa in 1950. The area, now an Ottawa neighbourhood, is still referred to as Billings Bridge.

History

Early days

In the early XIXth century, the Ottawa area was sparsely settled by Europeans. In 1783, a large tract of land including what is now Billings Bridge was purchased from the local aboriginal nations as part of the Crawford Purchase. First named in Lunenburg District in 1788, the area became part of Township B in 1792. In 1793, the township was renamed Gloucester Township, after Prince William Frederick, Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh and included in Dundas County. Billings Bridge was not yet settled in 1800 when Russel County was established and Gloucester Township incorporated into it.

Billings Bridge Station

Billings Bridge Transitway Station is a station on the OC Transpo transitway, adjacent to the Billings Bridge Plaza. It is named for, not only the plaza, but after Billings Bridge itself which is both a nearby bridge and neighbourhood (named for the early settler of the area, Braddish Billings). The transitway station itself is a major stop on the southern transitway-line due to its location near Bank Street, Ottawa's major north-south road and the mall itself. The station is located just south of the Plaza near the intersection between Bank Street and Riverside Drive.

There are two levels on the station. The upper level is on the transitway itself, while the lower level serves buses coming from the nearby Data Centre Road and Bank Street. There is a pedestrian bridge that leads from the lower level to the Plaza.

The station was officially opened with the southern transitway on 3 September 1995, replacing a temporary station which had existed on the site since the 1980s. Previously, the shopping centre had been served by buses which collected and discharged passengers at stops along the front of the plaza.