Upper Steel Arch Bridge
Coordinates: 43 ° 5 ′ 19 ″ N , 79 ° 4 ′ 11 ″ W.
| Upper Steel Arch Bridge Honeymoon Bridge |
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| use | Road bridge | |
| Crossing of | Niagara River | |
| place |
Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls, New York |
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| construction | Steel - Arch Bridge | |
| Longest span | 256 m | |
| start of building | 1897 | |
| opening | 1898 | |
| Status | Destroyed by ice in 1938 | |
| planner | Leffert L. Buck | |
| location | ||
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The Upper Steel Arch Bridge , also known as the Fallsview Bridge or Honeymoon Bridge , was a road bridge between Canada and the United States . The bridge led over the Niagara Gorge north of Niagara Falls and 168 meters south of today's Rainbow Bridge . It connected the American city of Niagara Falls in the state of New York and the Canadian town of Clifton , which became part of the newly founded Canadian city of Niagara Falls in the province of Ontario from 1903 .
construction
The Honeymoon Bridge was a two-hinged steel - arch bridge , the main arch bridges with a large 256-meters at the time the world's largest span had. The elevated roadway on the arch was connected to the high bank with a fish-belly girder.
Although the bridge was built to be stable, it was susceptible to vibrations such as those caused by strong gusts of wind or steady movements of groups of people. On June 8, 1925, the bridge vibrated violently during a parade.
history
The bridge was designed by the bridge construction engineer Leffert L. Buck . Construction began in 1897 and was opened to traffic in 1898.
It replaced the Falls View Suspension Bridge at this point , a suspension bridge that was dismantled and rebuilt further downstream between Queenston and Lewiston . With the construction of a hydropower plant in the area of the waterfalls, new electrically operated rail vehicles were also required on both sides of the river. The heavy weight of these vehicles made it necessary to build the new bridge, as the load-bearing capacity of the old suspension bridge was insufficient. The wooden deck of the new steel arch bridge was designed to carry the rolling stock of the Great Gorge Scenic Railway .
In the harsh winter of 1938, floating ice floes in the river pressed against the unusually low-lying warriors of this bridge and finally led to the collapse of the bridge on January 27, 1938.
In 1941, the Upper Steel Arch Bridge was replaced by the Rainbow Bridge , which still exists today . However, this is located 168 meters further downstream and is equipped with fighters positioned significantly higher.
Web links
- Upper Steel Arch Bridge. In: Structurae
- The Upper Steel Arch Bridge on Bridges over Niagara Falls (English)