[3] The first way of crossing the Red River was by the Notre Dame Street (Pioneer Avenue) ferry, linking Broadway on the west with Provencher Blvd on the east.

Disaster struck three days later due to ice from annual Red River break-up, wiping away two spans of the bridge.

[3][5] The new viaduct, a double-leaf drawbridge designed by the Strauss Bascule Bridge Company of Chicago, began construction in 1913 or 1914.

[1] The City of Winnipeg decided to replace the 90-year old Provencher Bridge with a newer structure, following 2 and a half years of public consultation process.

[1] The vehicular bridge's plan was originally designed to connect York and St. Mary Avenues to Provencher Boulevard, but it was cancelled in 1997.

[7] Completed in 2003, the same year as the vehicular bridge, Esplanade Riel was officially opened in the summer of 2004.

[8] It was designed by Architects Guy Préfontaine and Étienne Gaboury, and Colin Douglas Stewart of Wardrop Engineering.

Originally operated by Salisbury House, the restaurant space was home to Chez Sophie Sur Le Pont from summer 2013 to February 2015.

[9][10][11] The bridge's next tenant, Mon Ami Louis, opened in July 2015 as an "approachable and eschewing the haute cuisine haughtiness of French dining.