Burlington Canal Lift Bridge
View of Burlington Canal Lift Bridge
Coordinates43°17′57″N 79°47′43″W / 43.299105°N 79.795317°W / 43.299105; -79.795317
Carries4 lanes of Eastport Drive
CrossesHamilton Harbour
LocaleHamilton, Ontario and Burlington, Ontario
Maintained byPublic Works Canada
Characteristics
Designsteel
Total length116 metres (381 ft)
Clearance above5 metres (16 ft) - when lowered
36.5 metres (120 ft) - when lifted to maximum height
History
Opened1962
Location

Burlington Canal Lift Bridge is a vertical lift bridge located to the north side of the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway in Burlington, Ontario.

Built in 1962, the 116-metre-long (381 ft) bridge is the sixth bridge to span the Burlington Canal since 1830.[1] The bridge allows vessels to enter and exit from Hamilton Harbour into Lake Ontario. The bridge does not lift during the winter months (January to late March).

The bridge carries Eastport Drive across the canal with two lanes for traffic in each direction, as well as a single pedestrian walkway on the west side. Traffic light and signalized gates are found on both ends of the bridge. The road surface on the bridge is not paved, but rather metal grating.

In 1896 Hamilton Radial Electric Railway cars crossed the 1877 bridge. Before 1982 it also carried rail traffic along a CN Rail (Hamilton and North-Western Railway) route but the section of the line was removed and the bridge converted to a vehicular bridge.

North tower of the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge

The bridge is maintained and owned by Public Works Canada.

Earlier Bridges

1901 swing bridge

Several bridges were built from 1826 to 1952 to accommodate railway, radial and vehicular traffic:[2]

  • 1826: wooden bridge built; damaged in storm
  • 1830: swing bridge built; damaged by schooner Elsie Hope
  • 1877: 375 foot through-truss manual swing bridge built by Hamilton and North-Western Railway replaces scow service
  • 1901: steel truss electric swing bridge
  • 1921-1922: single leaf bascule bridge
  • 1952: temporary bridge built to replace the north leaf bascule bridge

The last three bridges were demolished following the completion of the current bridge in 1962.[2]

References

  1. Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada (30 September 2006). "Burlington Canal Lift Bridge - Ontario Region - PSPC". www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 29 June 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 "The Burlington Canal Bridges - Page 2". Archived from the original on 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2019-06-18.

Media related to Burlington Canal Lift Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.