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The Rainbow Bridge is a steel arch bridge that connects the United States and Canada through the towns of Niagara Falls, NY, and Niagara Falls, Ontario.
In 1939, England's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth dedicated the site of the new bridge, which officially opened in November 1941. Spanning 950 ft/289.5 m, the bridge hovers about 200 ft/61m above the surface of the water. On sunny days, one can spot a rainbow in the mist over the falls from the vantage point of the Rainbow Bridge.
| Rainbow Bridge | |
|---|---|
Rainbow Bridge as seen from Canada - August, 2007 |
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| Carries | 4 lanes of vehicular traffic (2 each way), pedestrian traffic |
| Crosses | Niagara River |
| Locale | Niagara Falls, Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York |
| Maintained by | Niagara Falls Bridge Commission |
| Design | Arch bridge |
| Longest span | feet ( m) |
| Opening date | November 1, 1941 |
| Toll | 3.00 USD or 3.50 CAD per auto (westbound only) |
The Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls is an international steel arch bridge across the Niagara River gorge, and is a world-famous tourist site. It connects the Cities of Niagara Falls, New York, United States (to the east), and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada (west).
The Rainbow 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. A design by architect Richard (Su Min) Lee was chosen (and later used again for the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, approximately km ( mi) downriver). 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 bridge was officially opened on November 1, 1941.
The New York State Department of Transportation designates the bridge New York State Reference Route 955A (though it is unsigned), while the Ontario Ministry of Transportation designates the bridge as part of Highway 420, even though it is separated from the rest of the route by a regional road. On the American side, a number of state and national routes end at a set of intersections in front of the bridge. New York routes 104 and 384, as well as the northern section of the Robert Moses State Parkway, all terminate at the final intersection before the bridge, and none of the designations passes onto the bridge itself. U.S. Route 62 terminates two blocks north at route 104, which then continues to the bridge.
The complex on the Canadian side of the Rainbow Bridge features the Rainbow Tower, which houses a large carillon that sounds several times daily.
The bridge permits no commercial trucks; the nearest border crossing for these is the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.[1]
| Bridges of the Niagara River | |||
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| Upstream North Grand Island Bridge |
Rainbow
Bridge |
Downstream Michigan Central Railway Bridge |
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