The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge (also known as the St. Lawrence Bridge and the Seaway Skyway) is a

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

connecting Ogdensburg,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

in the United States to Johnstown,

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 ...

(a few kilometres east of Prescott) in Canada. Designed by Modjeski & Masters and completed in 1960, it has six spans and a main span of totaling across the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting t ...

and

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Ameri ...

. The bridge is owned and operated by the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority, which also owns and operates Ogdensburg International Airport, the Port of Ogdensburg-Marine Terminal Facility, Commerce Park, the Port of Waddington, a medium-heavy industrial park and two short line railroads. The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority is a New York State public-benefit corporation.

Accessibility

The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge allows for both passenger and commercial vehicles to cross the Canada-United States border; neither cyclists nor pedestrians are permitted to cross this bridge. The bridge is a very popular border crossing for passenger vehicles due to its proximity to Ottawa on the Canadian side, with 410,000 vehicles crossing in 2011 alone. The bridge was designed for heavy loads and has a weight capacity of 105,000 pounds. The weight limit easily accommodates

semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer a ...

s. This bridge, however, does not see as much commercial traffic as the nearby

Thousand Islands Bridge The Thousand Islands International Bridge (french: Pont des Mille-îles) is an American-maintained international bridge system over the Saint Lawrence River connecting northern New York in the United States with southeastern Ontario in Canada. Co ...

, as it is not a direct route to any US interstate highway. On the Canadian side, the bridge connects to Highway 16, a highway which interchanges with Highway 401 and Highway 416 that continues north to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. On the US side, the bridge connects to New York State Route 812, which connects with

New York State Route 37 New York State Route 37 (NY 37) is a state highway in the North Country of New York in the United States, extending for on a west–east axis. The western terminus of the route is at an intersection with U.S. Route 11 (US ...

a few blocks from the southern end. Route 812 joins Route 37 west into Ogdensburg. It then goes south to Village of Lowville in Lewis County. Route 37 continues west to a fork at Morristown, N.Y. where Route 12 picks up to Alexandria Bay and

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Islan ...

Border crossing

The Ogdensburg–Prescott Border Crossing connects the cities of

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg ( moh, Kaniatarahòn:tsi) is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,436 at the 2019 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and d ...

and

Johnstown, Ontario Johnstown is a compact rural community in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in eastern Ontario, Canada, part of the township municipality of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal. It is at the Canadian terminus of the Ogdensburg–Prescott Internat ...

at the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge. The US border inspection station was built in 1960. The inspection canopy was replaced, and the building significantly upgraded and expanded in 2004. The Canada border station was replaced in 2012.

Events

On 1 September 2015, the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge made headlines after Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

posted a video to his

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

page standing in front of the bridge and the Port of Johnstown. The video was supposed to be a congratulatory video about the shipbuilding industry in the

Halifax harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural harb ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, however upon its release, locals of Halifax noticed inconsistencies with the scenery compared to that of the Halifax harbour and began to question where the video was actually shot. By 5 September, viewers had determined the video was actually shot in Johnstown, Ontario based on the quick shot of the port in the background, which was unmistakably the Port of Johnstown. Viewers then accused Harper of trying to pass off the scenery as the Halifax harbour due to the undeniable similarities between the Ogdensburg-Prescott bridge and the A. Murray MacKay Bridge in the Halifax harbour.

References

External links

The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority

Entry at bridgemeister.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge Suspension bridges in New York (state) Suspension bridges in Canada Road bridges in Ontario Canada–United States bridges Buildings and structures in Leeds and Grenville United Counties Bridges completed in 1960 Bridges over the Saint Lawrence River Road bridges in New York (state) Transport in Leeds and Grenville United Counties Toll bridges in New York (state) Toll bridges in Canada Public benefit corporations Public benefit corporations in New York (state) 1960 establishments in New York (state) 1960 establishments in Ontario Port authorities in the United States

Accessibility

Border crossing

Events

See also

References

External links