Mira Gut
Mira Gut | |
|---|---|
Unincorporated community | |
 | |
| Coordinates: 46°2′20″N 59°57′57″W / 46.03889°N 59.96583°W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Nova Scotia |
| Regional municipality | Cape Breton Regional Municipality |
| Time zone | UTC-4 (AST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-3 (ADT) |
| Forward sortation area | |
| Area codes | 902 and 782 |
| NTS Map | 011J04 |
| GNBC Code | CAZVR |
Mira Gut is a small community[1] in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality on Cape Breton Island where the Mira River enters into Mira Bay through the geographical feature Mira Gut,[2] for which the community is named.
History
[edit]Mira Gut Beach is located on the former path of a coal mining railroad, the Sydney and Louisburg Railway (S&L), that used to run from Sydney to Louisbourg. Remains of the railroad can still be found along parts of the shore.
Mira Gut Beach
[edit]Mira Gut Beach features both fresh and saltwater beaches and is a popular swimming area during the summer months.[3] Recent improvements to the beach site include an expanded parking lot, a boardwalk, change houses, and a lifeguard hut. The Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service (NSLS) began supervision of Mira Gut Beach in 1996 under an agreement with the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.[3]
Mira Gut Bridge
[edit]In the early 1900s there were two bridges over Mira Gut, one for the S&L Railroad, and one for road traffic. Both bridges had swing spans to allow vessels to travel up the Mira River. When the S&L Railroad shutdown in the late 1970s road traffic was moved to the former railroad bridge. In November 2017, the Mira Gut Bridge was closed because the swing bridge no longer worked properly[4] due to erosion of its foundations.[5] At the time about 1,000 vehicles crossed the bridge daily.[4]
Its replacement, an 80 metres (260 ft) hot-dip galvanized[6] steel truss bridge with a 6.5-metre vertical clearance to accommodate boats, officially opened on 5 August 2022. Bob Martell was the bridge custodian and operator of the swing span for more than 36 years. He had the honour of cutting the ribbon for the new bridge. The new bridge cost $6.525 million[4] and features a sidewalk, which can be used by cyclists, walkers and runners.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "Mira Gut". Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGNDB). Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC). Retrieved 30 June 2025.
- ^ "Mira Gut". Canadian Geographical Names Database (CGNDB). Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC). Retrieved 30 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Mira Gut Beach". Life Saving Society of Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Lifeguard Service. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "Mira Gut Bridge Officially Opens". Government of Nova Scotia. 5 August 2022. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ MacDonald, Peggy (October 16, 2017). "Replacement timeline uncertain for decrepit Cape Breton bridge". CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC News. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ "Mira Gut Bridge". AGA Project Gallery. American Galvanizers Association. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
- ^ Latimer, Emily (August 5, 2022). "5-year detour finally ends as new bridge opens over Mira River, Cape Breton". CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC News. Retrieved 2 July 2025.
 | This Cape Breton County, Nova Scotia location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |