The Niagara Falls International Rainbow Bridge, commonly known as the Rainbow 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 (a ...

across 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 in the United States (on the east). There are di ...

gorge. It connects the cities 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 Falls ...

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 * ...

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 territo ...

(to the east), and

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 Provinces and territories of Canada, 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 ...

(west).

Construction

The Rainbow Bridge was built near the site of the earlier Honeymoon Bridge, which collapsed on January 27, 1938, due to an ice jam in the river. A joint Canadian and American commission had been considering a new bridge to replace it, and the collapse added urgency to the project. Rainbow Bridge Canada side

A design by architect Richard (Su Min) Lee was chosen (and used again for the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, approximately downriver). The bridge's Rainbow Tower and Canadian plaza are the work of Canadian architect William Lyon Somerville.

King George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death in 1952. He was also the last Emperor of Indi ...

and Queen Elizabeth, during their visit to Niagara Falls as part of the 1939 royal tour of Canada, dedicated the site of the Rainbow Bridge; a monument was erected to commemorate the occasion. Construction began in May 1940. The bridge officially opened on November 1, 1941. The origin of the bridge's name is unknown, with one possible source being T. B. McQuesten, then chairman of the Niagara Parks Commission. An engraving on the Canadian side of the bridge includes a biblical quote from the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

which references a "bow in the clouds." Regardless of its origin, the NRBC used the name as early as March 1939.

Description and specifications

The

New York State Department of Transportation The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities ...

designates the bridge as NY 955A, an unsigned reference route, while the Ontario Ministry of Transportation designates it as part of Highway 420 (and the original routing of 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 west ...

), even though it is separated from the rest of the route by a regional road. On the American side, a number of state and national routes end at a set of intersections in front of the bridge. New York routes 104 and 384, as well as the northern section of the Niagara Scenic Parkway, all terminate at the final intersection before the bridge, and none of the designations passes onto the bridge.

U.S. Route 62 U.S. Route 62 or U.S. Highway 62 (US 62) runs from the Mexican border at El Paso, Texas, to Niagara Falls, New York, near the Canadian border. It is the only east-west United States Numbered Highway that connects Mexico and Canad ...

terminates two blocks north at route 104, which then continues to the bridge. The Rainbow Tower, part of the plaza complex on the Canadian side, houses a large

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a keyboard and consists of at least 23 cast-bronze bells. The bells are hung in fixed suspension and tuned in chromatic order so that they can be sounded harmoni ...

, which plays several times daily. The Rainbow Bridge does not permit commercial trucks; the nearest border crossing accessible to trucks is the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

Tolls

For each pedestrian or bicyclist, the toll to cross the bridge is $1.00 USD or CAD. The pedestrian toll is collected by an automatic turnstile when leaving Canada, payable in USD or CAD quarters or $1 CAD '

loonie The loonie (french: huard), formally the Canadian one-dollar coin, is a gold-coloured Canadian coin that was introduced in 1987 and is produced by the Royal Canadian Mint at its facility in Winnipeg. The most prevalent versions of the coin s ...

s'. Change machines are available from $1 and $5 USD bills and $1 (loonies) and $2 (toonies) CAD coins. For personal automobiles, the toll is only collected when leaving the United States and entering Canada. As of August 2022, car tolls are $5.00 USD or $6.50 CAD.

Gallery

File:Rainbow Bridge July 2013.jpg, The bridge as viewed from the Canadian side, with collapsed Schoellkopf Power Station visible distant cliff face File:Rainbow Bridge & American Falls at Night.JPG, Bridge and falls at night File:Niagara Falls (Ontario) Border Station.jpg, The border station to enter Canada after crossing the bridge from the US

Cityscape

References

External links

Niagara Falls Bridge Commission

Google Maps view of Rainbow Bridge

Live Traffic Camera of Rainbow Bridge

Images from the Historic Niagara Digital Collections
* {{coord, 43, 5, 24.84, N, 79, 4, 3.88, W, display=title 1941 establishments in New York (state) 1941 establishments in Ontario Bridges completed in 1941 Bridges in Niagara Falls, New York Bridges in Niagara Falls, Ontario Bridges over the Niagara River Canada–United States border crossings Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in Canada Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Road bridges in New York (state) Road bridges in Ontario Toll bridges in Canada Toll bridges in New York (state) Steel bridges in Canada Steel bridges in the United States Concrete bridges in Canada Concrete bridges in the United States