Lewiston–Queenston Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:Lewiston–Queenston Bridge
Carries:5 reversible lanes of /
Crosses:Niagara River
Locale:Queenston, Ontario and Lewiston, New York
Maint:Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
Design:Arch
Mainspan:1000feet[1]
Length:1594feet
Width:24feet
Below:370feet
Traffic:10,406 AADT
Cost:$16 million [2]
Coordinates:43.1531°N -79.0445°W
Toll:Canada-bound only:
$5.00 USD or $6.50 CAD per passenger vehicle[3]
Engineering:Hardesty & Hanover
Fabricator:Bethlehem Steel
Extra:
Embed:yes
Lewiston–Queenston Border Crossing
Country:United States
Location:
Opened:1962
Blankdetailstitle1:US Phone
Blankdetails1:(716) 282-1500
Blankdetailstitle2:Canadian Phone
Blankdetails2:(905) 262-4010
Blankdetailstitle3:Hours
Blankdetails3:Open 24 hours
Website:http://www.cbp.gov/contact/ports/buffalo

The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge, also known as the Queenston–Lewiston Bridge, is an arch bridge that crosses the Niagara River gorge just south of the Niagara Escarpment. The bridge was officially opened on November 1, 1962. It is an international bridge between the United States and Canada. It connects Interstate 190 in the town of Lewiston, New York to Highway 405 in the community of Queenston, Ontario. The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge is architecturally similar to the Rainbow Bridge at nearby Niagara Falls.

Customs plazas are located on both ends of the bridge, with tolls only being charged on entering Canada ($5.00 USD or $6.50 CAD per passenger automobile). The bridge accepts E-ZPass electronic toll collection and houses the second Canadian E-ZPass collection facility, after the nearby Peace Bridge. Also, two duty-free stores are located between the two plazas.

The bridge permits no pedestrians, but licensed taxi service is permitted.[4] The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge lacks expedited border clearance facilities for NEXUS and FAST card holders traveling from the United States into Canada, but does have a NEXUS lane for travel into the United States.

Gantries have lights indicating the direction of traffic as the lanes are reversible. Speed limit is posted in kilometres and miles per hour (15abbr=onNaNabbr=on limit) along the bridge. Canadian and United States flags fly at the midpoint on the south side of the bridge.

Border crossing and toll

The crossing is the fourth-busiest on the Canada–United States border, with delays of up to two hours. It is on the most direct route connecting the US Interstate system to Toronto and Detroit.[5] Canada replaced its border inspection facilities in 2011. The United States announced plans in 2016 to spend to upgrade the primary inspection facilities.[6] Construction was completed in 2022. Both facilities are open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. All commercial vehicles crossing between the US and Canada at the Niagara River must use this crossing.

The toll for use of the bridge is payable upon entering Canada only.

Passenger vehicles pay a toll only when entering Canada from the US. The cost is $5.00 USD or $6.50 CAD, as of August 1, 2022, payable by cash or E-ZPass.

High mast lighting is used on the Canadian side, with regular light standards used for bridge and the US side.

Previous suspension bridges

The first Queenston-Lewiston Bridge was built in 1851 by engineer Edward Serrell and wrecked by wind in 1864 (or 1854[7]). Newspapers reported that bridge deck had been destroyed in February 1864 by wind which caused main deck to sway excessively due to earlier removal of stabilizing guy-wires by local authorities, however main suspension cables remained fully intact. [8] Some of the cables were still in place as late as 1895.[9] The road deck span was about 841–. The suspension bridge design was unusual because the cables were attached to the cliff with only small towers. This made the road deck span shorter than the cable span of 1040feet.

A second bridge called the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, a suspension bridge was later constructed. Located NaNmiles north of the current bridge, this suspension bridge was originally built near the present location of the Rainbow Bridge, and was moved to Queenston in 1898 by R.S. Buck and engineer L.L. Buck, after the completion of the Rainbow Bridge's predecessor, the Upper Steel Arch Bridge. The suspension bridge was dismantled in 1963 after the current bridge was completed and opened.

Reminders of the earlier bridge are still visible in the area. First is two columns that lie within the Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park. Second is the original plaque, now located midspan alongside the road, right at the border between the two countries. The plaque is flanked by a US and a Canadian flag.

The supports are part of Owen Morrell's Omega, a steel sculpture and observation platform added in 1981.[10] Two columns remain on the Canadian side at the foot of York Street in a wooded area now known as York Park.

Plane crash

On December 1, 1961, while the bridge was under construction, an F-100 fighter (variously reported as belonging to the United States Air Force[11] or Air National Guard[12]) caught fire just after taking off from a base near Niagara Falls, New York. To protect people in the city, the pilot steered it into the Niagara River gorge before safely ejecting; but this aimed it near the construction site.[11] [12] It passed not far over the heads of workers near the site, missed a construction crane by about 100feet, and crashed into the gorge side about 600 feet beyond the bridge before falling into the river.[11]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Lewiston-Queenston Bridge . 10 December 2009 . HighestBridges.com . 1 November 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160521203258/http://www.highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Lewiston-Queenston_Bridge . 21 May 2016 . live.
  2. Web site: Bridges Over Niagara Falls . Niagarafrontier.com . 2016-02-27.
  3. Web site: Toll Cost & Vehicle Definitions . 1 August 2022.
  4. Web site: Which Bridge Do I Take? . Niagara Bridge Commission . July 5, 2019.
  5. Web site: Chapter 4: The Watery Boundary . United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border . The Center for Land Use Interpretation . Winter 2015.
  6. News: Anderson . Dale . McCarthy. Robert . U.S. side of Lewiston-Queenston Bridge to get $50 million upgrade . 22 February 2016 . . February 19, 2016.
  7. Web site: Bridges over Niagara Falls . Thunder Alley . May 2, 2019 . July 5, 2019.
  8. Buffalo Courier 2-5-1864, page 3
  9. Web site: 1851 Lewiston-Queenston . Bridgemeister . 2019-07-05.
  10. Web site: Work: Omega . Owen Morrel Studios . 2019-07-05.
  11. News: The Globe and Mail. Toronto. 1961-12-02. Pilot Guides Blazing Jet Into Gorge. 1.
  12. News: Toronto Daily Star. 1961-12-02. Jet Ablaze: Pilot Stays to Save City. 52.