Editing Peace Bridge (section)

==History==
[[File:Peace_Bridge_from_Fort_Erie.jpg|thumb|Peace Bridge from Fort Erie, with new lighting retrofit]]
The building of the Peace Bridge was approved by the [[International Joint Commission]] on August 6, 1925. Edward Lupfer served as chief engineer.<ref name=nfta-bonf>{{cite web|last=Berketa|first=Rick|title=Bridges Over Niagara Falls:a history & pictorial|url=http://www.niagarafrontier.com/bridges.html|publisher=Niagara Falls Thunder Alley|access-date=7 August 2011}}</ref>  A major obstacle to building the bridge was the swift river current, which averages {{convert|7.5|to|12|mph|km/h}}. Construction began in 1925 and was completed in the spring of 1927. On March 13, 1927, Lupfer drove the first car across the bridge.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Davies |first=Jane |title=Many Voices: A collective history of Greater Fort Erie |last2=Lyons Felstead |first2=Joan |publisher=For Erie Museum Board |year=1996 |pages=144 |language=English}}</ref> On June 1, 1927, the bridge was opened to the public.

The official opening ceremony was held two months later, on August 7, 1927, with about 20,000 in attendance.<ref name=":0" />  The festivities were transmitted to the public via [[radio]] in the first international coast-to-coast broadcast.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}  Newspapers at the time estimated that as many as 50 million listeners may have heard the broadcast.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}}

The dignitaries who took part in the dedication ceremonies included [[Edward VIII|The Prince of Wales]] (the future Edward VIII), [[Prince George, Duke of Kent|Prince George]], Canadian Prime Minister [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]], British Prime Minister [[Stanley Baldwin]], U.S. Vice President [[Charles Dawes]], Secretary of State [[Frank Kellogg]], New York Governor [[Al Smith]] and Ontario Premier [[Howard Ferguson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peacebridge.com/news.php?action=viewStory&id=21|title=Peace Bridge Authority|date=7 March 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307215156/http://www.peacebridge.com/news.php?action=viewStory&id=21|archive-date=7 March 2008}}</ref>

When the bridge opened, Buffalo and Fort Erie each became the chief port of entry to their respective countries from the other. At the time it was the only vehicular bridge on the Great Lakes from Niagara Falls to New York. The bridge remains one of [[North America]]'s important commercial ports with four thousand trucks crossing it daily.

After new toll facilities were installed on the Canadian side in 2005, the Peace Bridge became the first [[E-ZPass]] facility outside the United States. There are no fees for entering the US.