Burlington Canal Lift Bridge

Burlington Canal Lift Bridge
Burlington Canal Lift Bridge
	View of Burlington Canal Lift Bridge
Coordinates	43°17′57″N 79°47′43″W / 43.299105°N 79.795317°WCoordinates: 43°17′57″N 79°47′43″W / 43.299105°N 79.795317°W
Carries	4 lanes of Eastport Drive
Crosses	Hamilton Harbour
Locale	Hamilton, Ontario and Burlington, Ontario
Maintained by	Public Works Canada
Characteristics
Design	steel
Total length	116 metres (381 ft)
Clearance above	5 metres (16 ft) - when lowered ; 36.5 metres (120 ft) - when lifted to maximum height
History
Opened	1962
Location

Burlington Canal Lift Bridge is a vertical lift bridge located to the north side of the Burlington Bay James N. Allan Skyway in Burlington, Ontario.

Built in 1962, the 116-metre-long (381 ft) bridge is the sixth bridge to span the Burlington Canal since 1830.^[1] The bridge allows vessels to enter and exit from Hamilton Harbour into Lake Ontario. The bridge does not lift during the winter months (January to late March).

The bridge carries Eastport Drive across the canal with two lanes for traffic in each direction, as well as a single pedestrian walkway on the west side. Traffic light and signalized gates are found on both ends of the bridge. The road surface on the bridge is not paved, but rather metal grating.

In 1896 Hamilton-Burlington Radial Electric Railway cars cross the 1877 bridge. Before 1982 it also carried rail traffic along a CN Rail (Hamilton and North-Western Railway) route but the section of the line was removed and the bridge converted to a vehicular bridge.

North tower of the Burlington Canal Lift Bridge

The bridge is maintained and owned by Public Works Canada.

Earlier Bridges[]

1901 swing bridge

Several bridges were built from 1826 to 1952 to accommodate railway, radial and vehicular traffic:^[2]

1826: wooden bridge built; damaged in storm
1830: swing bridge built; damaged by schooner Elsie Hope
1877: 375 foot through-truss manual swing bridge built by Hamilton and North-Western Railway replaces scow service
1901: steel truss electric swing bridge
1921-1922: single leaf bascule bridge
1952: temporary bridge built to replace the north leaf bascule bridge

The last three bridges were demolished following the completion of the current bridge in 1962.^[2]

References[]

^ Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada (30 September 2006). "Burlington Canal Lift Bridge - Ontario Region - PSPC". www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.
^ ^a ^b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2019-06-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links[]

Media related to Burlington Canal Lift Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

[1] Government of Canada, Public Services and Procurement Canada (30 September 2006). "Burlington Canal Lift Bridge - Ontario Region - PSPC". www.tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

[hamiltonbeachcommunity.com-2] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-12-30. Retrieved 2019-06-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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