Saturday, February 15, 2020

1927 Peace Bridge over Niagara River and Black Rock Canal at Buffalo, NY

(Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; 3D Satellite)

The navigation channel span over Black Rock Canal is "just" a truss, but the other spans are deck arches. "The bridge consists of five steel deck arch spans ranging from 346 feet (105 meters) to 423 feet (129 meters) in length and a through truss span of 360 feet (110 meters) as well as some smaller girder approach spans." [Historic Bridges]
Street View

Looking NW
Photo taken by Royce and Bobette Haley in July 2016

Doug Kerr comment on Bridge Hunter
October 2008 photos, as seen from the Buffalo, NY bank of the Niagara River.
[Actually, he took it from the Bird Island Pier that separates the canal from the river.]

According to Historic Bridges, the deck is wider than most bridges of this era. That is because it was designed to carry two 40-ton trolley car lanes as well as two 20-ton vehicular lanes. [PeaceBridge] Today it supports three 12' lanes where the middle one is reversible to accommodate rush hour traffic. According to Historic Bridges, the congestion is at the customs gates rather than the bridge itself.

Jim Cavanaugh posted
From my Archive. An October 1994 view of the United States Customs and Immigration facility on the U.S. side of the Peace Bridge in Buffalo, NY.
Jim Cavanaugh shared with the same comment
 
Jim Cavanaugh posted
From my Archive. A 2008 view of the Peace Bridge. Opened on June 1st 1927, the bridge is the second busiest border crossing between the USA and Canada. It spans the Niagara River connecting Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, NY.
Jim Cavanaugh shared with the same comment

Jamestown Retro posted
Lucy and Desi traveled to Jamestown from Buffalo in a Bell Helicopter. Here is a photo of them flying over the Peace Bridge in Buffalo on their way to a final landing at JHS.
Lucy comes home February 1956.
Courtesy Look magazine photograph collection (Library of Congress)
Kram Maharg: That same helicopter owned by Bell himself is in the Niagara Aerospace Niagara Aerospace Museum with a picture of all three of them in the cockpit.
Kathie Simonson-Parks: No traffic on the bridge .. what an odd sight
Evelyn Chaffer: That Old Barge " behind the Helicopter " has been there since seems like forever. Can anyone give the History about it ? Thank you. [see reply below]
Greg Patterson: That doesn't look like the peace bridge. [see reply below]
Eric Bloomquist shared
 
Marlena Rhiannon commented on Evelyn's comment
It’s actually an old pump station.
 
Curt LF commented on Greg's comment
Greg Patterson Yes it is.. Canadian side. Old water intake is still there.

Rashid Alaskarov posted
The Peace Bridge during construction in 1926 and official opened on August 7, 1927.
Jim Myers shared
 
Steven Barker posted
The Peace Bridge under construction in the 1920’s
Dennis Ruda: Check out how they repaired the Peace Bridge after the barge hit it.
https://www.facebook.com/share/pyxrr7R6PA3GvWwi/?mibextid=WC7FNe
Michael Satanek shared
I’d still like to know how on earth they got the foundations set in the wicked current at the mouth of the river!
Bubba Dubs shared
Bethlehem Steel project
James Torgeson: Yes, and that’s before they bought McClintic-Marshal and really pushed them into the big leagues of steel fabrication and erection.

This is the second example I have seen of saving a truss bridge rather than replacing it. I saw the first example just earlier this week in Winona, MN. "The Peace Bridge Authority recently marked the completion of a multi-year, $100 million rehabilitation project on the Peace Bridge....According to a report from WBFO, work on the rehabilitation project included widening and strengthening of the span, full replacement of the bridge deck and structural steel, new traffic control gantries, railings, and light posts. By widening the span, crews were able to put in a new bicycle and pedestrian path as part of the project." [RoadsBridges]

On the bridge's website I could find info such as audited financial statements and traffic volumes, but I could not find any info, let alone photos, of the reconstruction. I would like to know how they replaced structural steel in an active bridge.

This photo has been moved to "1913 Black Rock Canal and Lock along Buffalo, NY"

This photo has been moved to "1913 Black Rock Canal and Lock along Buffalo, NY"

Visit Buffalo Niagara posted
Happy Canada Day to our friends just across the Peace Bridge!
Here in Buffalo, whenever we’re out on the water watching a sunset, we always give a big wave to our favorite neighbors.
#InTheBUF photo by Instagram: @johnrwittphotography

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