The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge spans the St. Marys River 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 to ...

connecting the

twin cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in sta ...

of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Sault Ste. Marie ( ) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is at the St. Mary's River on the Canada–US border. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay. The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants ...

. The bridge is operated by the International Bridge Administration under the direction of the Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Authority, a bi-national governing body consisting of four directors appointed by the

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of state, head of government, and chief executive of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the s ...

and four appointed by the Canadian government-owned

Federal Bridge Corporation The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited (FBCL; french: La société des ponts fédéraux Limitée) is the name of two successive Canadian federal Crown corporations. The Federal Bridge Corporation Limited is responsible for operating and managing ...

Description

The Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge is the tenth-busiest passenger crossing 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: ...

, and the only land crossing for almost 700 miles (1125 km). It serves as the northern terminus of

Interstate 75 Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from St ...

(I-75). The bridge construction began in 1960 and officially opened to traffic on October 31, 1962. Contractors included Massman Construction Co. of Kansas City, MO and

Bethlehem Steel The Bethlehem Steel Corporation was an American steelmaking company headquartered in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. For most of the 20th century, it was one of the world's largest steel producing and shipbuilding companies. At the height of its succ ...

of Bethlehem, PA. Daily operation is carried on by the International Bridge Administration (IBA) under the supervision of the Sault Ste. Marie Bridge Authority (SSMBA). The SSMBA replaced the previous Joint International Bridge Authority (JIBA) in 2009, which in turn had succeeded the International Bridge Authority (IBA, created in 1935) in 2000. This is a steel truss arch bridge with a suspended deck. There are two separate spans, a double arch span on the U.S. side and a single arch span on the Canadian side. The double arch spans cross the four U.S.

Soo Locks The Soo Locks (sometimes spelled Sault Locks but pronounced "soo") are a set of parallel locks, operated and maintained by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District, that enable ships to travel between Lake Superior and the low ...

. The single arch spans the single Canadian Lock. In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the bridge ends at a city street, Huron Street, in the downtown core. The total length of the bridge approaches . The Bridge allows bicycles to cross, but the lack of dedicated bike lanes requires cyclists to take proper precautions to ensure visibility. The International Bridge Bus crosses the bridge hourly from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on weekdays serving both downtown areas and

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and th ...

on the Michigan side and the Station Mall on the Ontario side. A tourist information radio station, CIRS, broadcast at 530 AM from the Ontario side of the bridge until 2010.

History

In 1954 the state of Michigan created the International Bridge Authority. Canada followed in 1955, creating the St.Mary's River Co. The bridge was opened in 1962. Beginning in 1987, an annual International Bridge Walk has been held on the last Saturday in June, starting on the Michigan side, with participants finishing in Ontario. In 1975, the bridge had its 10 millionth crossing. On June 6, 2005, the Ontario government announced a construction project to build a dedicated truck bypass route to connect the bridge to Highway 17 in the north end of the city. The city had lobbied for this for some time, since the bridge's terminus at a city street was viewed by many residents of the city as a safety concern; however, the bridge terminus itself cannot be easily relocated due to the already highly urbanized nature of the Sault, Ontario waterfront. The truck route, known as Carmen's Way in memory of the city's former federal MP

Carmen Provenzano Carmen Provenzano (February 3, 1942 – July 27, 2005) was a Canadian politician. He represented the Sault Ste. Marie electoral district in the House of Commons of Canada from 1997 to 2004. He was a member of the Liberal Party of Canada. C ...

, was officially opened in September 2006. Construction work subsequently commenced in 2009 on a project to expand and modernize the Canadian bridge plaza, including a larger

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; french: Agence des services frontaliers du Canada, ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and c ...

building with improved truck inspection facilities and a dedicated route to take trucks directly to Carmen's Way, thereby eliminating the need for trucking traffic to enter Huron Street. Beginning in May 2014, construction work commenced on improvements to the plaza on the Michigan side of the bridge. The 100 millionth crossing occurred on March 1, 2018.

Border crossing

The Sault Sainte Marie Border Crossing connects the cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and

at the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge. The US Port of Entry was established in 1843, as the cities on each shore of the river grew. Regular ferry service began in 1865, and border inspection services in both the US and Canada were provided at the ferry terminals since the early 1900s. Ferry service abruptly ended in 1962 when the International Bridge spanning the river was completed. Railroad trains cross the border on the adjacent

Sault Ste. Marie International Railroad Bridge The Sault Ste. Marie Railroad Bridge was originally built in 1887 to facilitate rail traffic crossing St. Marys River and the international border between Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It runs parallel to the Sault ...

which was built in 1887.

References

External links

International Bridge
* ttp://www.saultbridge.com International Bridge Web Cams* File:Looking west soo locks international bridge.jpg, Looking west towards the International Bridge from the American Locks administration building File:International Bridge from Wetland.jpg, International Bridge, from south Whitefish Island {{Authority control Bridges completed in 1962 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Buildings and structures in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Buildings and structures in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Canada–United States bridges Interstate 75 Lake Superior Circle Tour Lake Huron Circle Tour Road bridges in Michigan Road bridges in Ontario Sault Ste. Marie St. Marys River (Michigan–Ontario) Through arch bridges in Canada Through arch bridges in the United States Toll bridges in Canada Toll bridges in Michigan Tolled sections of Interstate Highways Transportation in Chippewa County, Michigan Truss bridges in Canada Truss bridges in the United States Steel bridges in the United States Steel bridges in Canada

Description

History

Border crossing

See also

References

External links