The Peace Bridge is an international
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
between
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 ...
and 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 territori ...
at the east end of
Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
at the source of the
Niagara River, about upriver of
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 Fall ...
. It connects
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...
, in the United States to
Fort Erie, Ontario, in Canada. It is operated and maintained by the binational
Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority
The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority (also known as the Peace Bridge Authority and the Public Bridge Authority) is the agency established to regulate the Peace Bridge, which crosses the Canada–United States border. This bridge is d ...
.
The Peace Bridge consists of five arched spans over the Niagara River and a Parker deck type truss span over the Black Rock Canal on the American side of the river. The length is . Material used in the construction included of steelwork, 9,000 tons of structural steel and 800 tons of reinforcing steel in the concrete abutments. The Peace Bridge was named to commemorate 100 years of peace between the United States and Canada. It was constructed as a highway bridge to address pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic which could not be accommodated on the
International Railway Bridge
The International Railway Bridge is a two-span swing bridge carrying the Stamford Subdivision of the Canadian National Railway across the Niagara River between Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, and Buffalo, New York, United States. It was originally b ...
, built in 1873.
History
The building of the Peace Bridge was approved by the
International Joint Commission
The International Joint Commission (french: Commission mixte internationale) is a bi-national organization established by the governments of the United States and Canada under the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. Its responsibilities were expa ...
on August 6, 1925. Edward Lupfer served as chief engineer.
A major obstacle to building the bridge was the swift river current, which averages . Construction began in 1925 and was completed in the spring of 1927. On March 13, 1927, Lupfer drove the first car across the bridge. On June 1, 1927, the bridge was opened to the public.
The official opening ceremony was held two months later, on August 7, 1927, with about 100,000 in attendance. The festivities were transmitted to the public via
radio
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
in the first international coast-to-coast broadcast. Newspapers at the time estimated that as many as 50 million listeners may have heard the broadcast.
The dignitaries who took part in the dedication ceremonies included
The Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...
(the future Edward VIII),
Prince George, Canadian Prime Minister
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A L ...
, British Prime Minister
Stanley Baldwin, U.S. Vice President
Charles Dawes
Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American banker, general, diplomat, composer, and Republican politician who was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-rec ...
, Secretary of State
Frank Kellogg
Frank Billings Kellogg (December 22, 1856December 21, 1937) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of State. He co-authored the Kellogg–Briand Pact, for which he was awarded the ...
, New York Governor
Al Smith and Ontario Premier
Howard Ferguson
George Howard Ferguson, PC (June 18, 1870 – February 21, 1946) was the ninth premier of Ontario, from 1923 to 1930. He was a Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1905 to 1930 who represented the eastern provinci ...
.
When the bridge opened, Buffalo and Fort Erie each became the chief port of entry to their respective countries from the other. At the time it was the only vehicular bridge on the Great Lakes from Niagara Falls to New York. The bridge remains one of
North America's important commercial ports with four thousand trucks crossing it daily.
After new toll facilities were installed on the Canadian side in 2005, the Peace Bridge became the first
E-ZPass facility outside the United States. There are no fees for entering the US.
Alternatives
The Peace Bridge is one of the busiest on the
Canada–United States border, with over one million trucks crossing it each year and delays of up to almost four hours.
Other nearby bridges between the United States and Canada include the
Rainbow Bridge, the
Queenston-Lewiston Bridge and the
Whirlpool Rapids Bridge. The Queenston-Lewiston Bridge and the Peace Bridge are the only Niagara River crossings that allow heavy trucks.
Customs inspection and toll plazas
There are customs plazas at both ends of the bridge, with the Canadian plaza the newer and larger of the two.
The inbound customs plaza in the United States has seven lanes for trucks and nine for cars. Pedestrians and cyclists are processed to the left of the truck inspection area.
The inbound customs plaza in Canada was designed by NORR Limited Architects and Engineers and completed in 2010. There are 14 booths/lanes for cars and a separate area for trucks (handling five trucks at a time). Pedestrians and cyclists are processed in an area on the right side of the inspection area for cars.
Once vehicles leave the customs plaza in Canada, vehicles approach a smaller toll plaza to pay toll for using the Peace Bridge. Payment for tolls are accepted in cash ($8.00 USD or $10.25 CAD),
E-ZPass ($4.00 USD), or old Peace Bridge tokens. There are no toll booths when entering the U.S. and no tolls for pedestrians or cyclists.
Preclearance
In October 2012, it was announced by the DHS and Public Safety Canada that a pilot program, years in the works, to preclear all truck traffic from Canada into Buffalo would be commenced. The pilot would start in late December 2012 and run for 18 months, after which the economic benefits would be assessed and its feasibility to make permanent would then be recommended to both U.S Congress and the Parliament of Canada.
Road connections
On the New York side,
Interstate 190 has a direct northbound off-ramp (exit 9) onto the Peace Bridge. On the Ontario side, the
Queen Elizabeth Way
The Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario linking Toronto with the Niagara Peninsula and Buffalo, New York. The freeway begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western ...
begins at the Canadian Customs plaza.
Commemorations
* Buffalo resident Emma M. Herold-Haft composed the ''Peace Bridge March'' in honor of the bridge's opening in 1927.
* On August 4, 1977,
Canada Post
Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...
and the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
brought out a
joint issue of
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
s to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the bridge. Unusual for joint issues, the two designs are radically different, with the US print being all blue and the Canadian print in full colour).
See also
*
List of bridges in Canada
This is a list of bridges and viaducts in Canada, including those for pedestrians and vehicular traffic.
Historical and architectural interest bridges
There are only a few covered bridges left in Canada compared to all those that were built in t ...
*
List of crossings of the Niagara River
*
List of reference routes in New York
A reference route is an unsigned highway assigned by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) to roads that possess a signed name (mainly parkways), that NYSDOT has determined are too minor to have a signed touring route number, o ...
*
Peace Bridge robins
References
Further reading
*
External links
Peace Bridge Authority*
Images from the Historic Niagara Digital Collections
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Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also h ...
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International Railway Bridge
The International Railway Bridge is a two-span swing bridge carrying the Stamford Subdivision of the Canadian National Railway across the Niagara River between Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, and Buffalo, New York, United States. It was originally b ...
, downstream signs =
1927 establishments in Canada
1927 establishments in New York (state)
Canada–United States border crossings
Bridges completed in 1927
Bridges in Buffalo, New York
Bridges over the Niagara River
Buildings and structures in Buffalo, New York
Canada–United States bridges
Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in Canada
Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States
Parker truss bridges in the United States
Pratt truss bridges
Road bridges in New York (state)
Road bridges in Ontario
Roads with a reversible lane
Steel bridges in Canada
Steel bridges in the United States
Toll bridges in Canada
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Transport in Fort Erie, Ontario
Transportation buildings and structures in Erie County, New York
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Peace symbols