The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge, also known as the Queenston–Lewiston 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 structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

that crosses the

Niagara River The Niagara River ( ) flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, forming part of the border between Ontario, Canada, to the west, and New York, United States, to the east. The origin of the river's name is debated. Iroquoian scholar Bruce T ...

gorge just south of the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is an approximately discontinuous, arc-shaped but generally northward-facing escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States. The escarpment begins south of Lake Ontario and circumscribes the top of the Great Lake ...

. The bridge was officially opened on November 1, 1962. It is an international bridge between the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

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, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It connects Interstate 190 in the town of Lewiston,

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

Highway 405 Route 405 or Highway 405 may refer to: Canada * Manitoba Provincial Road 405 * Newfoundland and Labrador Route 405 * Ontario Highway 405 Costa Rica * National Route 405 (Costa Rica), National Route 405 Japan * Japan National Route 405 United Ki ...

in the community of

Queenston Queenston is a compact rural community and unincorporated place north of Niagara Falls in the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is bordered by Highway 405 to the south and the Niagara River to the east; its location at the eponym ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge is architecturally similar to the Rainbow Bridge at nearby

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York (s ...

. Customs plazas are located on both ends of the bridge, with tolls only being charged on entering Canada ($5.00 USD or $6.50 CAD per passenger automobile). The bridge accepts

E-ZPass E-ZPass Interagency Group (E-ZPass Group trade name and E-ZPass product brand) is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the eastern half of the United States. The group itself is composed of ...

electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...

and houses the second Canadian E-ZPass collection facility, after the nearby

Peace Bridge The Peace Bridge is an international bridge over the Niagara River between Canada and the United States, located just north of the river's source at the east end of Lake Erie about upriver of Niagara Falls. It connects Buffalo, New York, in ...

. Also, two

duty-free A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...

stores are located between the two plazas. The bridge permits no pedestrians, but bicycles and licensed taxi service is permitted. The Lewiston–Queenston Bridge lacks expedited border clearance facilities for

NEXUS NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at border ...

and

FAST Fast or FAST may refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Fast" (Juice Wrld song), 2019 * "Fast" (Luke Bryan song), 2016 * "Fast" (Sueco song), 2019 * "Fast" (GloToven song), 2019 * ''Fast'', an album by Custom, 2002 * ''Fast'', a 2010 short fil ...

card holders traveling from the United States into Canada, but does have a NEXUS lane for travel into the United States. Gantries have lights indicating the direction of traffic as the lanes are reversible. Speed limit is posted in kilometres and miles per hour ( limit) along the bridge. Canadian and United States flags fly at the midpoint on the south side of the bridge.

Border crossing and toll

The crossing is the fourth-busiest on the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

, with delays of up to two hours. It is on the most direct route connecting the US Interstate system to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. Canada replaced its border inspection facilities in 2011. The United States announced plans in 2016 to spend to upgrade the primary inspection facilities. Construction was completed in 2022. Both facilities are open 24 hours per day, 365 days per year. The toll for use of the bridge is payable upon entering Canada only. * Canada-bound: ** 10 customs booths for cars/RVs ** 5 customs booths for trucks ** Dedicated Bus Processing Lane ** parking area for trucks for inspections ** helipad ** 6 toll booths * US-bound: ** 6 customs booths for cars/buses/RVs ** 3 customs booths for trucks ** parking area for trucks for inspections Passenger vehicles pay a toll only when entering Canada from the US. The cost is $5.00 USD or $6.50 CAD, as of August 1, 2022, payable by cash or E-ZPass. High mast lighting is used on the Canadian side, with regular light standards used for bridge and the US side.

Previous suspension bridges

The first Queenston-Lewiston Bridge was built in 1851 by engineer Edward Serrell and wrecked by wind in 1864 (or 1854). Newspapers reported that bridge deck had been destroyed in February 1864 by wind which caused main deck to sway excessively due to earlier removal of stabilizing guy-wires by local authorities, however main suspension cables remained fully intact. Some of the cables were still in place as late as 1895. The road deck span was about . The suspension bridge design was unusual because the cables were attached to the cliff with only small towers. This made the road deck span shorter than the cable span of . A second bridge called the Queenston-Lewiston Bridge, a

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

was later constructed. Located north of the current bridge, this suspension bridge was originally built near the present location of the Rainbow Bridge, and was moved to Queenston in 1898 by R.S. Buck and engineer L.L. Buck, after the completion of the Rainbow Bridge's predecessor, the Upper Steel Arch Bridge. The suspension bridge was dismantled in 1963 after the current bridge was completed and opened. Queenston Lewiston suspension bridge cable

Queenston Lewiston suspension bridge cable

Reminders of the earlier bridge are still visible in the area. First is two columns that lie within the

Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park Earl W. Brydges Artpark State Park (or Earl W. Brydges State Artpark) is a state park located in the Lewiston (village), New York, Village of Lewiston in Niagara County, New York, Niagara County, New York (state), New York. The park, which is of ...

. Second is the original plaque, now located midspan alongside the road, right at the border between the two countries. The plaque is flanked by a US and a Canadian flag. The supports are part of Owen Morrell's Omega, a steel sculpture and observation platform added in 1981. Two columns remain on the Canadian side at the foot of York Street in a wooded area now known as York Park.

Plane crash

On December 1, 1961, while the bridge was under construction, an F-100 fighter (variously reported as belonging to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a Reserve components of the United States Armed Forces, federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia (United States), militia of each U.S. ...

) caught fire just after taking off from a base near

Niagara Falls, New York Niagara Falls is a City (New York), city in Niagara County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a total population of 48,671. It is adjacent to the Niagara River, across from the city of Niagar ...

. To protect people in the city, the pilot steered it into the Niagara River gorge before safely ejecting; but this aimed it near the construction site. It passed not far over the heads of workers near the site, missed a construction crane by about , and crashed into the gorge side about 600 feet beyond the bridge before falling into the river.

References

External links

*
Niagara Falls Bridge CommissionImages from the Niagara Historic Digital CollectionsLive Traffic Camera of Lewiston Queenston BridgeLewiston Queenston Bridge Collection of Images
Niagara Falls Public Library (Ont.) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewiston-Queenston Bridge 1962 establishments in New York (state) 1962 establishments in Ontario Bicyclable bridges on the Interstate Highway System Bridges completed in 1962 Bridges in Niagara County, New York Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Bridges over the Niagara River Buildings and structures in Niagara-on-the-Lake Canada–United States border crossings Canada–United States bridges Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state) Interstate 90 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 Roads with a reversible lane Steel bridges in Canada Steel bridges in the United States Toll bridges in Canada Toll bridges in New York (state) Tolled sections of Interstate Highways Transport in the Regional Municipality of Niagara

Border crossing and toll

Previous suspension bridges

Plane crash

See also

References

External links