Port Robinson is a small community in the southernmost part of
Thorold
Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks.
History
The first su ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
. The community is divided in half by the
Welland Canal
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller in St. Catharines t ...
, as there is no bridge in the immediate vicinity to connect the two halves of the community. In the summer, a small free ferry for
pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically.
The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...
s and
cyclist
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
s runs across the canal. In the winter, residents must use the bridge on
Highway 20
Route 20, or Highway 20, may refer to:
International
* European route E20
Australia
* Sturt Highway (NSW/VIC/SA)
* Yarra Bank Highway
Brazil
* BR-020
Canada
* Alberta Highway 20
* British Columbia Highway 20
* Manitoba Highway 20
*New B ...
, which results in a 13.3 km (8.3 mi) trip to get to the other side.
Like all the ports on the first Welland Canal, Port Robinson was named after a member of the
Family Compact
The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today’s Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in L ...
that once ruled
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
, as Ontario was then named.
Sir John Beverly Robinson was Attorney General of Upper Canada at the time the first Canal was built, and the port was originally named Port Beverly. The post office dates from 1835 onward.
The demise of Bridge 12
Bridge St in Port Robinson was originally linked by a
vertical lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck.
The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...
, numbered as Bridge 12 by the
St. Lawrence Seaway Authority.
On August 25, 1974, the 600-foot ore carrier ''Steelton'', travelling northbound on the canal, struck and destroyed the bridge.
The east tower of the bridge toppled over, while the west tower collapsed in on itself. The bridge span was pushed into the water, severely deformed. The damage to the bridge was estimated as between
$15 and $20 million. It was scrapped in its entirety. The removal of the towers from the canal, especially the counterweights (some 300 tons each), necessitated the use of a special heavy-duty floating crane. The canal was closed until September 9 for the repairs.
The ''Steelton'' suffered damage to its bow and
pilot house
The interior of the bridge of the Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska">RV_Sikuliaq.html" ;"title="Research Vessel ''RV Sikuliaq">Sikuliaq'', docked in Ketchikan, Alaska
file:Wheelhouse of Leao Dos Mares.jpg, Wheelhouse on a tugboat, topp ...
, estimated at about $1 million. The repairs were made at
Port Colborne
Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed after S ...
, at the southern terminus of the Welland Canal.
There was no loss of life. The bridge master, Albert Beaver, and a watchman on the ship suffered minor injuries.
The ensuing investigation concluded that the ship failed to blow the whistle to signal its approach and the bridge could not be raised in time.
After the accident, rebuilding the bridge or building a tunnel to replace it was considered. In the end, it was concluded that the volume of local vehicular traffic was not sufficient to warrant such an expense. Instead, a passenger ferry service was launched in early 1977. The ferry can transport people and
bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
s, but is not big enough for cars, thus forcing residents who want to use a car to take the long route. In 2015, amid debate about discontinuing the ferry, it was estimated that the ferry carries 2000 pedestrians and 6000 touring cyclists per year.
A similar accident occurred at Bridge 11 in
Allanburg in 2001. That bridge was lowered onto the passing
bulk carrier
A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo — such as grains, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement — in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrier was built in 1852, econom ...
''
Windoc'', which afterwards caught fire. The ship was a total loss, but no injuries were reported, and Bridge 11 suffered minor damage and was repaired.
"Marine Investigation Report #M01C0054: Striking and Subsequent Fire on Board Bridge 11, Welland Canal and Bulk Carrier Windoc, Welland Canal, Allanburg, Ontario, 11 August 2001."
Transportation Safety Board of Canada, 2005-07-05. Retrieved on 2007-08-15. While repairs were underway, Port Robinson residents wishing to travel by car to other side of the community had to drive even farther than usual to use the Main Street Tunnel
The Main Street Tunnel, located in Welland, Ontario, Canada, is an underwater tunnel, carrying Niagara Road 27 and the unsigned designation of Highway 7146 under the Welland Canal. It is named as a part of East Main Street.
The structure was bu ...
in Welland.
Port Robinson Welland Canal20 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg , 1
Port Robinson Welland Canal30 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg, 2
Port Robinson Welland Canal40 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg, 3
File:Port Robinson Welland Canal50 Ore carrier Steelton after collision with Bridge12 Aug25 1974.jpg, 4
Port Robinson Welland Canal60 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg, 5
Port Robinson Welland Canal70 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg, 6
Notes
External links
* The Welland Public Library'
Canal history pages
contain many newspaper clippings and photos documenting the Canal's history in general, and th
in particular
are also available, including some
of the destroyed bridge.
Images from the Historic Niagara Digital Collections at the Niagara Falls Public Library
Whaddya Mean, I Have to Wait for the Green Light? (''The Scanner'', October 1974)
- Marine History of the Great Lakes website
Port Robinson
at Natural Resources Canada Geographical Names
{{Authority control
Neighbourhoods in Thorold
Bridge disasters in Canada
1974 disasters in Canada