Thousand Islands Bridge

Thousand Islands Bridge

A view of the Canadian side of the bridge system from an observation tower just before the border crossing.
Coordinates 44°20′50.71″N 75°59′0.6″W / 44.3474194°N 75.983500°W / 44.3474194; -75.983500 (Thousand Islands Bridge)Coordinates: 44°20′50.71″N 75°59′0.6″W / 44.3474194°N 75.983500°W / 44.3474194; -75.983500 (Thousand Islands Bridge)
Carries 2 lanes of I-81 and Highway 137
Crosses Saint Lawrence River
Locale Wellesley Island, New York, United States to Hill Island, Ontario, Canada
Official name The Thousand Islands Bridge system
Maintained by Thousand Islands Bridge Authority
Characteristics
Design suspension & truss bridge[1]
Total length Total: 8.5 mi (13.7 km)
Longest span American suspension: 800 ft (240 m)
Canadian suspension: 750 ft (230 m)
Canadian truss: 600 ft (180 m)
Clearance below U.S.: 150 ft (46 m)
Canada: 120 ft (37 m)
History
Construction begin April 30, 1937 (April 30, 1937)
Opened 1937 (1937)
Statistics
Toll Varies $2.75–$15.50 (USD or CAD)[2]

The Thousand Islands Bridge (French: Pont des Mille-îles) is an international bridge system over the Saint Lawrence River connecting northern New York in the United States with southeastern Ontario in Canada. Constructed in 1937, with additions in 1959, the bridges span the Canada–US border in the middle of the Thousand Islands region, from which it derives its name. The bridges all carry two lanes of traffic (one in each direction) with pedestrian sidewalks,[3] and is administered by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, an international agency.

The actual international border bridge crossing is a set of two parallel 90 ft (27 m) long bridges between Wellesley Island in the United States and Hill Island in Canada.

Structure

Thousand Islands Bridge system is a series of five bridges[4] that span parts of the St. Lawrence River, ultimately connecting both banks. The southern end of the bridge connects with Interstate 81 and the northern end of the bridge connects to Highway 401 via Highway 137. There is also an interchange with the Thousand Islands Parkway on the Ontario side.

Toll payments

Tolls are paid only by cash, or with a Commuter Discount Fare Card, which is good for either 16 trips (US$20.00) or 72 trips (US$32.00). No electronic toll collection transponders are currently offered or accepted. The Bridge Authority offers sales of transponders of Florida's SunPass, for the convenience of Canadian travelers to Florida.[5]

History

From ground-breaking ceremonies to completion, the entire Thousand Islands Bridge system took sixteen months to complete, which was ten weeks ahead of schedule. The total cost was $3,050,000. In the early years of its operation, the bridge usually had 150,000 vehicle crossings annually. Today, however, annual crossings exceed 2,000,000 vehicles.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Thousand Islands Bridge Facts". Tibridge.com. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  2. ↑ Thousand Islands Bridge Authority Toll Rate Classification Schedule, 23 July 2013
  3. ↑ "Thousand Islands Bridge Authority". Tibridge.com. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  4. ↑ "Our History :". Tibridge.com. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  5. ↑ "Florida's SunPass electronic toll device soon to be accepted in more states". miamiherald. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
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