Whirlpool Rapids Bridge
| Whirlpool Rapids Bridge | |
|---|---|
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| Carries | 2 lanes and one sidewalk (lower) 1 rail line (upper) |
| Crosses | Niagara River |
| Locale | Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York |
| Maintained by | Niagara Falls Bridge Commission |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Longest span | 167.6 metres (549.87 ft) |
| Total length | 329 metres (1,079.40 ft) |
| Width | 16.9 metres (55.45 ft) (lower) 10 metres (32.81 ft) (upper) |
| Vertical clearance | 3.96 metres (12.99 ft) (lower) |
| Clearance below | 68.6 metres (225.07 ft) |
| AADT | 543 (2006) |
| Opening date | 1897 |
| Toll | $3.25 USD/CAD per auto (westbound only) |
The Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, commonly called the Whirlpool Bridge and formerly known as the Lower Steel Arch Bridge until 1937, is a spandrel braced, riveted, two-hinged arch bridge.
This is an international bridge between Canada and the United States. It connects the commercial downtown districts of Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario. This bridge is located approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.9 mi) north of the Rainbow Bridge and about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the Falls. This bridge was acquired by the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission in January 1959.
The bridge was designed by Leffert L. Buck and constructed between April 9, 1896 and August 27, 1897. It was constucted around the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge so as not to interrupt daily traffic.
The bridge has two decks. The upper deck carries the railway traffic while the lower deck is a roadway reserved for passenger vehicles. The Whirlpool Bridge is reserved for subscribers to NEXUS, a joint program implemented by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), formerly under the jurisdiction of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP). There is one lane of traffic to the United States and one lane to Canada. The American side connects to New York State Route 104 and New York State Route 182, while the Canadian side connects to Niagara Regional Road 43, formerly Provincial Highway 8.
In addition to limiting the lower (road) deck to NEXUS subscribers, the bridge permits no commercial trucks. [1]
A single set of train tracks crosses over the bridge. A VIA Rail station, formerly operated by Canadian National Railways (once the Grand Trunk Railway), is located on the Canadian side of the bridge.
Just to the south is the 1883 (replaced 1925) Michigan Central Railway Bridge, which was used to carry rail traffic.
Reportedly, the Bridge Commission is considering closure of the upper deck of the bridge if rail users are not willing to pay for repairs. Currently, only the Maple Leaf uses the bridge; the Canadian National Railway no longer routes freight over the bridge.
- Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
- Images from the Historic Niagara Digital Collections
- Whirlpool Rapids Bridge in the Structurae database
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