Peace Bridge

42.906944444444 - 78.905555555556Koordinaten: 42 ° 54 ' 25 "N, 78 ° 54' 20 " W

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Niagara River

The Peace Bridge ( German: Peace Bridge ) is a road bridge which crosses the border between the United States and Canada at the eastern end of Lake Erie, approximately 30 km upstream from Niagara Falls. It connects the cities of Buffalo in the State of New York (State) and Fort Erie in Ontario, Canada. It is operated and maintained by the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority.

Overview

The building consists of five arches over the Niagara River and a truss span over the Black Rock Canal on the American side of the river. The total length is 1769 m. The name of the bridge is reminiscent of one hundred years of peace between the United States and Canada. Construction was approved on 6 August 1925 by the International Joint Commission.

The bridge was built for the road bridge, which satisfy the needs of pedestrians and motor vehicles should do since they could not use the Built in 1873, the International Railway Bridge.

One of the biggest obstacles in the construction was the strong current of the river, which is 12 therebetween and 19 km of / hr. Construction began in 1925 and was completed in the spring of 1927. For the public use on June 1, 1927 released.

The official opening ceremony took place until two months later. The ceremony is about 100,000 visitors involved.

The public dignitaries who attended the ceremony included Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII ), Prince Albert, Duke of York (later George VI. ), The Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, U.S. Vice President Charles Dawes, U.S. Secretary of State Frank Kellogg, the governor of New York Al Smith and the Prime Minister of Ontario Howard Ferguson.

With the opening of Buffalo became the main crossing point between the United States and Canada. At that time it was the only vehicle bridge between Niagara Falls and Minnesota. Even today, this border crossing one of the most important between the two States, approximately four thousand trucks cross the border here every day.

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority announced in 1997 plans to build a second bridge on the southern side of the existing connection. This should accommodate the growing traffic. Legal problems, but also in terms of design and financing have so far prevented the start of construction. Originally a cable-stayed bridge was proposed. However, this was rejected because it was feared endangered bird species can be caught in the ropes.

More bridge connections between Canada and the United States near the Rainbow Bridge, the Queenston - Lewiston Bridge and the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge. The Queenston - Lewiston Bridge and the Peace Bridge which are the only border crossings, which are approved for heavy traffic.

On the U.S. side, the Interstate 190 direct northbound exit (Exit 9) to the Peace Bridge. This is as Ft. Erie Can signposted, although the bridge is actually the Baird Drive is. On the Canadian side begins immediately after customs clearance of the Queen Elizabeth Way.

After 2005, a new toll -handling system installed on the Canadian side, the Peace Bridge to the first ( and so far only ) toll facility outside the United States, which is connected to the E- ZPass process was.

Stamps

On August 4, 1977, the postal administrations of Canada and the United States brought on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the bridge out a joint issue a postage stamp. It is completely unusual for such joint issues that the two designs are completely different.