Rainbow Bridge (Niagara Falls)
|
|
Rainbow_Bridge_Niagara_Falls.jpg
The Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls is a world-famous tourist site. It is a steel arch bridge of a type that has been replicated by the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge approximately 16 km (10 mi.) to the north. This is an international bridge between the United States and Canada. It connects the Cities of Niagara Falls, New York and Niagara Falls, Ontario, spanning the Niagara River.
The bridge was built near the site of the earlier Honeymoon Bridge, also called the Falls View Bridge or officially the Upper Steel Arch Bridge, which had collapsed on January 27, 1938, due to an ice jam in the river. A joint Canadian and American commission had already been considering a new bridge to replace it, to which the collapse gave added urgency. King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, during their visit to Niagara Falls as part of the 1939 Royal Tour of Canada, dedicated the site of the Rainbow Bridge. A monument was erected to commemorate the occasion. Construction began in May of 1940. The official opening of the Rainbow Bridge took place on November 1, 1941.
The span of this bridge is 289.5 m (950 ft).
See also
External links
- Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (http://www.niagarafallsbridges.com/)
- google maps (http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=43.089978,-79.067348&spn=0.005064,0.007918&t=k&hl=en)