The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge (also known as the St. Lawrence Bridge and the Seaway Skyway) is 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 ...

connecting Ogdensburg,

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 * ...

, in the United States to Johnstown,

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 ...

(a few kilometres east of Prescott) in Canada. Designed by Modjeski & Masters and completed in 1960, it has six spans and a main span of totaling across the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

and

Saint Lawrence Seaway The St. Lawrence Seaway () is a system of rivers, locks, canals and channels in Eastern Canada and Northern United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North America, as far inland ...

. The bridge is owned and operated by the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority, which also owns and operates Ogdensburg International Airport, the Port of Ogdensburg-Marine Terminal Facility, Commerce Park, the Port of Waddington, a medium-heavy industrial park and two short line railroads. The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority is a New York State public-benefit corporation.

Accessibility

The Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge allows for both passenger and commercial vehicles to cross the Canada-United States border; neither cyclists nor pedestrians are permitted to cross this bridge. The bridge is a very popular border crossing for passenger vehicles due to its proximity to Ottawa on the Canadian side, with 410,000 vehicles crossing in 2011 alone. The bridge was designed for heavy loads and has a weight capacity of . The weight limit easily accommodates

semi-trailer truck A semi-trailer truck (also known by a wide variety of other terms – see below) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called ...

s. This bridge, however, does not see as much commercial traffic as the nearby Thousand Islands Bridge, as it is not a direct route to any US interstate highway. On the Canadian side, the bridge connects to Highway 16, a highway which interchanges with

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...

and Highway 416 that continues north to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

. On the US side, the bridge connects to New York State Route 812, which connects with New York State Route 37 a few blocks from the southern end. Route 812 joins Route 37 west into Ogdensburg. It then goes south to Village of Lowville in Lewis County. Route 37 continues west to a fork at Morristown, New York, where Route 12 picks up to Alexandria Bay and

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

Border crossing

The Ogdensburg–Prescott Border Crossing connects the cities of

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

, and

Johnstown, Ontario Johnstown is a compact rural community in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, in eastern Ontario, Canada, part of the township municipality of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal. It is at the Canadian terminus of the Ogdensburg–Prescott Internat ...

, at the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge. The US border inspection station was built in 1960. The inspection canopy was replaced, and the building significantly upgraded and expanded, in 2004. The Canada border station was replaced in 2012.

Events

On 1 September 2015, the Ogdensburg–Prescott International Bridge made headlines after Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

posted a video to his

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page standing in front of the bridge and the Port of Johnstown. The video was supposed to be a congratulatory video about the shipbuilding industry in the

Halifax Harbour Halifax Harbour is a large natural harbour on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, located in the Halifax Regional Municipality. Halifax largely owes its existence to the harbour, being one of the largest and deepest ice-free natural har ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

, but upon its release, locals of Halifax noticed inconsistencies with the scenery compared to that of the Halifax harbour and began to question where the video was actually shot. By 5 September, viewers had determined the video was actually shot in Johnstown, Ontario, based on the quick shot of the port in the background, which was unmistakably the Port of Johnstown. Viewers then accused Harper of trying to pass off the scenery as the Halifax harbour due to the undeniable similarities between the Ogdensburg–Prescott bridge and the A. Murray MacKay Bridge in the Halifax harbour.

References

External links

The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority

Entry at bridgemeister.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge Suspension bridges in New York (state) Suspension bridges in Canada Road bridges in Ontario Canada–United States bridges Buildings and structures in Leeds and Grenville United Counties Bridges completed in 1960 Bridges over the Saint Lawrence River Road bridges in New York (state) Transport in Leeds and Grenville United Counties Toll bridges in New York (state) Toll bridges in Canada Public benefit corporations Public benefit corporations in New York (state) 1960 establishments in New York (state) 1960 establishments in Ontario Port authorities in the United States

Accessibility

Border crossing

Events

See also

References

External links