Editing Whirlpool Rapids Bridge

{{Short description|Bridge in Ontario and New York}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
|bridge_name=Whirlpool Rapids Bridge
|image=Whirlpool Rapids Bridge 2009.jpg
|image_size=300px
|caption= Whirlpool Rapids Bridge (left) with out-of-service [[Michigan Central Railway Bridge]] (far right). A since-removed viaduct of the [[Niagara Scenic Parkway]] is also visible in the distance.
|official_name=
|named_for=[[Niagara Whirlpool]]
|carries=2 auto lanes (lower)<br />1 rail line (upper)
|crosses=[[Niagara River]]
|locale=[[Niagara Falls, Ontario]], and [[Niagara Falls, New York]]
|maint=[[Niagara Falls Bridge Commission]]<br />[[Amtrak]] (rail deck)
|id=
|design=[[Arch bridge]]
|mainspan={{convert|167.6|m|ft|2}}
|length={{convert|329|m|ft|2}} 
|width={{convert|16.9|m|ft|2}} (lower)<br />{{convert|10|m|ft|2}} (upper)
|clearance={{convert|3.96|m|ft|2}} (lower) 
|below={{convert|68.6|m|ft|2}} 
|traffic=543 (2006)
|open=1897
|closed=
|toll= Canada-bound only:<br/>
$5.00 USD per passenger vehicle (via prepaid account linked to NEXUS card or E-ZPass payment)<ref name="tolls">{{cite web |url=http://www.niagarafallsbridges.com/index.php/crossing-info/toll-cost-vehicle-definitions |title=Toll Cost & Vehicle Definitions |access-date=2022-08-01}}</ref>
|map_cue=
|map_image=
|map_text=
|map_width=
|coordinates={{coord|43.109208|N|79.058336|W|display=inline,title}} 
|lat=
|long=
}}

The '''Whirlpool Rapids Bridge''', commonly known as the '''Whirlpool Bridge''' or the '''Lower Steel Arch Bridge''' (before 1937), is a spandrel braced, riveted, two-hinged [[arch bridge]] that crosses the [[Canada–United States border]], connecting the commercial downtown districts of [[Niagara Falls, Ontario]], and [[Niagara Falls, New York]]. This bridge is located approximately {{convert|1.5|km|mi|1}} north of the [[Rainbow Bridge (Niagara Falls)|Rainbow Bridge]] and about {{convert|2|km|mi|1}} from the [[Niagara Falls|Falls]]. It was acquired by the [[Niagara Falls Bridge Commission]] in January 1959. Immediately upstream is the similar arch-style [[Michigan Central Railway Bridge]], which has been out of service since 2001.

==History==
[[File:Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge to Lower Steel Arch Bridge 3.jpg|thumb|left|Bridge construction]]

The predecessor of the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge was the [[Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge]], which carried foot and rail traffic, opened in 1855, and was most notable for being the world's first working railway suspension bridge and for being the bridge that was used by [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionists]] running the [[Underground Railroad]] to get slaves to freedom in Canada. By the late 1800s, the suspension bridge was becoming outdated for railroad needs. The weight of trains in North America had greatly increased by the mid-1890s. Larger and more powerful locomotives were required to pull cars that handled an increasing number of passengers and goods; compared to the {{convert|23|ST|t|adj=on}} locomotives crossing the bridge in the 1850s, {{convert|170|ST|t|adj=on}} locomotives were the common engines 40&nbsp;years later.{{Sfn|Irwin|1996|p=55}} The weight of these trains exceeded the specifications of the Suspension Bridge and the bridge companies decided to request the replacement of the bridge.{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=30}}

Civil engineer [[Leffert L. Buck]], who had been hired to maintain the Suspension Bridge, was selected to design the replacement bridge. He settled for a bridge of the [[arch bridge|arch design]]. Buck built the new bridge around and below the Suspension Bridge and started building the foundation in April 1896.{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=30}} 
His plan allowed bridge traffic&mdash;train and pedestrian&mdash;to continue without disruption.{{Sfn|Griggs|2006b|p=82}} By August 27, 1897, the last pieces of the Suspension Bridge were dismantled, leaving the Lower Steel Arch Bridge&mdash;later renamed the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge&mdash;in its stead.{{Sfn|Crabtree|1901|p=360}} Steel towers and framework supporting the project were removed once it was completed.{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=33}} At the time of completion, it was the longest arch bridge ever built (168 meters across).{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=40}} Bridge materials for the former suspension bridge were then recycled by the [[Pennsylvania Steel Company]].{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=41}}

While the [[Niagara Cantilever Bridge]] was nearby, it only served rail traffic for Canada Southern and [[Michigan Central Railway]] companies.{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=40}} Over the years, the [[New York Central Railroad]], [[Great Western Railway (Ontario)|Great Western Railway]], [[Erie Railroad]], [[Canadian National Railway]], and [[Amtrak]] have used the whirlpool bridge. In November 2009, the bridge was extensively refurbished: repairing and replacing the catwalk and some of the steel beams and rivets, sandblasting, and a paint job were among the major maintenance tasks undertaken.<ref name="DCN1">[https://web.archive.org/web/20140717235421/http://dcnonl.com/article/id35938 Whirlpool Rapids Bridge gets historic facelift], November 6, 2009.</ref> Amtrak took over maintenance responsibility of the rail deck from [[Canadian National Railway|Canadian National]] (CN) in late 2012. Currently the ''[[Maple Leaf (train)|Maple Leaf]]'' train service, jointly operated by Amtrak and [[Via Rail]], is the only train to use the bridge; CN routes freight over the [[International Railway Bridge]] at [[Fort Erie, Ontario]]–[[Buffalo, New York]] instead.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

==Bridge setup==
[[File:Whirlpool bridge.jpg|left|thumb|The ''Maple Leaf'' crosses the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge over the Niagara River (1983).]]

The bridge has two decks. The upper deck carried two tracks worth of [[Rail transport|railway]] traffic until 1963 when one of the tracks was removed.{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=43}} The remaining track is used exclusively by [[Amtrak]] trains for the ''[[Maple Leaf (train)|Maple Leaf]]'' international train service between [[Toronto]] and [[New York City]]. The [[Via Rail]] [[Niagara Falls station (Ontario)|Niagara Falls station]] is immediately located on the [[Canada|Canadian]] side of the bridge in [[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]], [[Ontario]] and the Amtrak [[Niagara Falls station (New York)|Niagara Falls station]] is immediately located on the [[United States|American]] side of the bridge in [[Niagara Falls, New York]].{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

In 1967, the wood used for the lower deck was replaced with asphalt.{{sfn|Lewis|2008|page=43}} This track now only serves passenger vehicles—commercial vehicles and pedestrians are prohibited. Additionally, it may only be used by members of the [[NEXUS (frequent traveller program)|NEXUS]] program, jointly operated by the [[Canada Border Services Agency]] (CBSA) and [[United States Customs and Border Protection]] (CBP).<ref name="clui">{{Cite web |url=http://www.clui.org/section/united-divide-a-linear-portrait-usacanada-border-3 |title=Chapter 4: The Watery Boundary |website=United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border |publisher=The Center for Land Use Interpretation |date=Winter 2015}}</ref> Vehicles entering Canada must pay a $5.00 USD toll electronically using an account linked to their [[E-ZPass]] transponder or NEXUS card.<ref name="tolls" /> There is one lane of traffic to the [[United States]] and one lane to [[Canada]], with two inspection lanes at each end for traffic entering the respective countries. The American side connects to [[New York State Route 104]] and [[New York State Route 182]], while the Canadian side connects to the historic terminus of [[Ontario Highway 3#Provincial Highway Network|Highway 3A]], {{jct|province=ON|Hwy|8|noshield=t}} and {{jct|province=ON|Hwy|20|noshield=t}}, now known as River Road and Bridge Street.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

{{Clear|left}}

==See also==
* {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
* {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
* {{Portal-inline|Ontario}}
* {{Portal-inline|New York (state)}}
* [[List of crossings of the Niagara River]]
* [[List of reference routes in New York]]
* [[List of bridges in Canada]]
* [[List of bridges in the United States by height]]
* [[List of international bridges in North America]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Crabtree |first=Jerome |title=The Marvels of Modern Mechanism and Their Relations to Social Betterment |year=1901 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyRDAAAAIAAJ |access-date=September 4, 2008 |volume=1 |publisher=The King-Richardson Company |location=Massachusetts, United States |chapter=Iron and Steel Working}}
* {{cite journal|last=Griggs |first=Francis |date=November 2006b |title=Great Achievements&mdash;John A. Roebling |journal=Structure |publisher=National Council of Structural Engineers Associations |location=Illinois, United States |issn=0969-2126 |url=http://www.structuremag.org/article.aspx?articleID=180 |format=PDF |access-date=July 14, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425175306/http://www.structuremag.org/article.aspx?articleID=180 |archive-date=April 25, 2009 }}
* {{cite book |last=Irwin |first=William |title=The New Niagara: Tourism, Technology, and the Landscape of Niagara Falls, 1776&ndash;1917 |date=March 1996 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yarkTJGfL2IC |publisher=[[Penn State University Press]] |location=Pennsylvania, United States |isbn=0-271-01593-4}}

=== Sources ===
* {{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Paul |title=Niagara's Gorge Bridges |date=2008 |publisher=Looking Back Press |isbn=978-1-55068-925-9}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.niagarafallsbridges.com/ Niagara Falls Bridge Commission]
*[http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/results.asp?action=browse&q=295&key=57 Images from the Historic Niagara Digital Collections]
*{{Structurae|id=20000652|title=Whirlpool Rapids Bridge}}

{{Crossings navbox
|structure=Bridges
|place=[[Niagara River]]
|bridge=Whirlpool Rapids Bridge
|bridge signs=''Amtrak''
|upstream=[[Michigan Central Railway Bridge]]
|upstream signs=<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed:  [[Image:Michigan Central Herald.png|40px]] -->
|downstream=[[Lewiston–Queenston Bridge]]
|downstream signs=[[Image:Ontario 405.png|20px]] [[Image:I-190.svg|25px]]
}}
{{Niagara Falls|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Amtrak bridges]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1897]]
[[Category:Bridges in Niagara Falls, New York]]
[[Category:Bridges in Niagara Falls, Ontario]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Niagara River]]
[[Category:Canada–United States border crossings]]
[[Category:Canada–United States bridges]]
[[Category:Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Railroad bridges in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Railway bridges in the Regional Municipality of Niagara]]
[[Category:Road bridges in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Ontario]]
[[Category:Road-rail bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Toll bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Toll bridges in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Truss arch bridges in Canada]]
[[Category:Truss arch bridges in the United States]]