Port Robinson is a small community in the southernmost part of

Thorold Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks. History The first surv ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The community is divided in half by the

Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller, Ontario, Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lak ...

, as there is no bridge in the immediate vicinity to connect the two halves of the community. In the summer, a small free ferry for

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the '' sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British En ...

s and

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

s runs across the canal. In the winter, residents must use the bridge on Highway 20, which results in a 13.3 km (8.3 mi) trip to get to the other side. Like all the ports on the first Welland Canal, Port Robinson was named after a member of the

Family Compact The Family Compact was a small closed group of men who exercised most of the political, economic and judicial power in Upper Canada (today's Ontario) from the 1810s to the 1840s. It was the Upper Canadian equivalent of the Château Clique in L ...

that once ruled

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

, as Ontario was then named. Sir John Beverley Robinson was Attorney General of Upper Canada at the time the first Canal was built, and the port was originally named Port Beverley. The post office dates from 1835.

The demise of Bridge 12

Bridge St in Port Robinson was originally linked by a vertical lift bridge, numbered as Bridge 12 by the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority. On August 25, 1974, the ore carrier ''Steelton'', travelling northbound on the canal, struck and destroyed the bridge. Port Robinson Welland Canal10 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974

Port Robinson Welland Canal10 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974

The east tower of the bridge toppled over, while the west tower collapsed in on itself. The bridge span was pushed into the water, severely deformed. The damage to the bridge was estimated as between $15 and $20 million. It was scrapped in its entirety. The removal of the towers from the canal, especially the counterweights (some 300 tons each), necessitated the use of a special heavy-duty floating crane. The canal was closed until September 9 for the repairs. The ''Steelton'' suffered damage to its bow and pilot house, estimated at $1 million. The repairs were made at

Port Colborne Port Colborne is a city in Ontario, Canada that is located on Lake Erie, at the southern end of the Welland Canal, in the Niagara Region of Southern Ontario. The original settlement, known as Gravelly Bay, dates from 1832 and was renamed after ...

, at the southern terminus of the Welland Canal. There was no loss of life. The bridge master, Albert Beaver, and a watchman on the ship suffered minor injuries. The ensuing investigation concluded that the ship failed to blow the whistle to signal its approach and the bridge could not be raised in time. After the accident, rebuilding the bridge or building a tunnel to replace it was considered. In the end, it was concluded that the volume of local vehicular traffic was not sufficient to warrant such an expense. Instead, a passenger ferry service was launched in early 1977. The ferry can transport people and

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

s, but is not big enough for cars, thus forcing residents who want to use a car to take the long route. In 2015, amid debate about discontinuing the ferry, it was estimated that the ferry carries 2000 pedestrians and 6000 touring cyclists per year. A similar accident occurred at Bridge 11 in Allanburg in 2001. That bridge was lowered onto the passing

bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially naval architecture, designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo—such as Grain trade, grain, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement—in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrie ...

'' Windoc'', which afterwards caught fire. The ship was a total loss, but no injuries were reported, and Bridge 11 suffered minor damage and was repaired."Marine Investigation Report #M01C0054: Striking and Subsequent Fire on Board Bridge 11, Welland Canal and Bulk Carrier Windoc, Welland Canal, Allanburg, Ontario, 11 August 2001."
Transportation Safety Board of Canada, 2005-07-05. Retrieved on 2007-08-15. While repairs were underway, Port Robinson residents wishing to travel by car to other side of the community had to drive even farther than usual to use the Main Street Tunnel in Welland. Port Robinson Welland Canal20 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg , 1 Port Robinson Welland Canal30 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg, 2 Port Robinson Welland Canal40 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg, 3 File:Port Robinson Welland Canal50 Ore carrier Steelton after collision with Bridge12 Aug25 1974.jpg, 4 Port Robinson Welland Canal60 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg, 5 Port Robinson Welland Canal70 Bridge12 after collision with Steelton Aug25 1974.jpg, 6

Notes

External links

* The Welland Public Library'
Canal history pages
contain many newspaper clippings and photos documenting the Canal's history in general, and th

in particular

are also available, including some

of the destroyed bridge.
Images from the Historic Niagara Digital Collections at the Niagara Falls Public Library

Whaddya Mean, I Have to Wait for the Green Light? (''The Scanner'', October 1974)
- Marine History of the Great Lakes website
Port Robinson
at Natural Resources Canada Geographical Names {{Authority control Neighbourhoods in Thorold Bridge disasters in Canada 1974 disasters in Canada