Rainbow Bridge (Niagara Falls)

Rainbow Bridge
use	Car traffic, pedestrians
Crossing of	Niagara River
place	Niagara Falls , New York ; Niagara Falls , Ontario
Entertained by	Niagara Falls Bridge Commission
construction	Steel - Arch Bridge
overall length	442 m
Longest span	289.5 m
start of building	May 1940
opening	November 1, 1941
planner	Wadell & Hardesty
toll	toll (only in the direction of Canada)
	location

43.090233333333 -79.067744444444Coordinates: 43 ° 5 ′ 25 ″ N , 79 ° 4 ′ 4 ″ W.

The Rainbow Bridge at the Niagara Falls is an arch bridge made of steel , the Niagara Gorge crossed. It connects the cities of Niagara Falls ( New York ) in the east and Niagara Falls ( Ontario ) in the west and thus runs across the border between Canada and the United States .

history

The Rainbow Bridge was built near the former Upper Steel Arch Bridge , the collapse of which was caused by an ice barrier in the river on January 27, 1938. A joint Canadian and US commission had already discussed a new building when the collapse made the matter more urgent. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth dedicated the site during her visit to Niagara Falls on the occasion of the visiting Canada tour in 1939; a memorial stone was erected on this occasion. Construction began in May 1940, the official opening of the bridge took place on November 1, 1941.

location

On the Canadian side, the bridge is designated by the Ontario Ministry of Transportation as part of Highway 420 , although it is separated from the rest of the trunk road by a regional road. On the US side, the road across the river is referred to as New York State Reference Route 955A by the New York State Department of Transportation , but is not signposted as such. The New York State Highway 104 and 384 and the northern section of the Robert Moses State Parkway end at the last intersection before the bridge and none of these highways leading toward the bridge. US Highway 62 ends two blocks north on State Route 104.

The complex on the Canadian side includes the Rainbow Tower , which houses a carillon that can be heard several times a day.

The bridge is not approved for heavy traffic , trucks must drive over the Peace Bridge or the Lewiston – Queenston Bridge . It is subject to tolls for cars - only in the direction of Canada. There are multi-lane control buildings on both sides for border clearance.

description

The Rainbow Bridge crosses the gorge of the Niagara River as well as the River Road on the Canadian side and the Robert Moses Parkway on the American side. There are extensive plazas for border clearance at both ends of the bridge . It has two lanes in each direction and a 3.3 m wide walkway on the south side facing Niagara Falls . The Rainbow Bridge is a clamped steel - arch bridge with spandrel roadway. The entire bridge structure including the approach bridges over the two streets is 442 m (1450 ft) long. The arch bridge is framed by reinforced concrete fore bridges with round arches on high pillars that connect the bridge deck with the high bank. This is followed by a T-beam bridge over the streets on both sides . The bridge arch consists of two steel box girders with a construction height of 3.65 m at a lateral distance of 17 m, which are stiffened against each other by triangular braces. The span of the bridge arch is 289.5 m (950 ft). The large concrete blocks that form the braces for the arches are 15 m away from the bank at a height of 15 m above the river water, so that they cannot be reached by larger ice jams. The top of the bridge deck is 61.5 m above the river.

The design of the bridge comes from the engineering firm Wadell & Hardesty , which 21 years later also created the plans for the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge under its name Hardesty & Hanover . The Lewiston-Queenston Bridge is not a direct copy of the Rainbow Bridge, but has similar dimensions and looks almost exactly the same.