The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge, also known as the Queenston–Lewiston Bridge, is an

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side. A viaduct ...

that crosses the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

gorge just south of the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...

. The bridge was officially opened on November 1, 1962. It is an international bridge between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. It connects Interstate 190 in the town of Lewiston, New York to

Highway 405 Route 405 or Highway 405 may refer to: Canada * Manitoba Provincial Road 405 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 405 * Ontario Highway 405 Costa Rica * National Route 405 (Costa Rica), National Route 405 Japan * Japan National Route 405 United Ki ...

in the community of

Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponym ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge is a twin of the Rainbow Bridge at

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, ...

and designed by Richard (Su Min) Lee. 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 The Peace Bridge is an international bridge between Canada and the United States at the east end of Lake Erie at the source of the Niagara River, about upriver of Niagara Falls. It connects Buffalo, New York, in the United States to Fort Er ...

. Also, two

duty-free A duty-free shop (or store) is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods sold will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, w ...

stores are located between the two plazas. The bridge permits no pedestrians, but licensed taxi service is permitted. The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge lacks expedited border clearance facilities for

NEXUS NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at border ...

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 ( limit) along the bridge. Canadian and United States flags fly at the midpoint on the south side of the bridge.

Customs clearance and tolls

There is customs clearance on either side of the bridge. The toll for use of the bridge is payable upon entering Canada only. * Canada-bound: ** 10 customs booths for cars/RVs ** 5 customs booths for trucks ** Dedicated Bus Processing Lane ** parking area for trucks for inspections ** helipad ** 6 toll booths * US-bound: ** 6 customs booths for cars/buses/RVs ** 3 customs booths for trucks ** parking area for trucks for inspections 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). Some of the cables were still in place as late as 1895. The road deck span was about . 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 . A second bridge called the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

was later constructed. Located north, the suspension bridge was originally built near the location of the present-day 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. Queenston Lewiston suspension bridge cable

Queenston Lewiston suspension bridge cable

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. 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 The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

) caught fire just after taking off from a base near

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagara ...

. To protect people in the city, the pilot steered it into the Niagara River gorge before safely

ejecting Ejection or Eject may refer to: * Ejection (sports), the act of officially removing someone from a game * Eject (''Transformers''), a fictional character from ''The Transformers'' television series * "Eject" (song), 1993 rap rock single by Senser ...

; but this aimed it near the construction site. It passed not far over the heads of workers near the site, missed a construction crane by about , and crashed into the gorge side about 600 feet beyond the bridge before falling into the river.

Border crossings

The crossing is the fourth-busiest on the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

, with delays of up to two hours. It is on the most direct route connecting the US Interstate system to Toronto and Detroit. Canada replaced its border inspection facilities in 2011. The United States continues to use its original 1962 border inspection facilities; however, in 2016, it announced plans to spend $50million to upgrade them. Both facilities are open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. All commercial vehicles crossing between the US and Canada in the Niagara Falls area must use this crossing.

References

External links