Lost Peterboro Street Lift Bridge over Erie Canal in Canastota, NY

(Satellite, the canal has been filled in because the Barge Canal replaced it in 1918.)

Erie Canal Overview

Photo via hmdb
Peterboro Street Lift Bridge

Canal and street traffic came into conflict where Peterboro Street crossed the Erie Canal in Canastota's busy commercial district. Engineers fixed the problem with a hydraulic lift bridge. Raised, it let boats through and still carried foot traffic. Lowered, it carried wagons, and later cars and trucks.

Built in 1901, the lift bridge was removed in 1927. The Erie Barge Canal had been re-routed in 1918 through Oneida Lake just north of here, and this part of the canal was closed to navigation.

(inset photo caption:)

1907 view of the lift bridge looking south from Canal Street along Peterboro Street. Stairways were built into the bridge towers so that pedestrians could cross even when the bridge was raised.

(background photo caption:)

Fourth of July celebration about 1905

Photo via hmdb
Canastota's Lift Bridge

A lift bridge was designed to lift up horizontally out of the way of canal boat traffic.

Canastota's lift bridge was constructed because the existing high bridge had an inconvenient rise to the Peterboro Street level crossing the canal.

From a small building, the bridge was controlled manually 24 hours a day during the canal season.

The diagram shows how the volume of village water by a series of in-take and out-take valves was piped to all four corner tower cylinders.

An electric motor controlled a rack and pinion system that geared the four corners of the bridge together so it lifted evenly.

It took approximately 1 minute and 40 seconds to raise the bridge 15 ft. to the staircase level.

The tradition of allowing pedestrians to cross while the bridge is in its raised position was continued with the Barge Canal.

Street View via Dennis DeBruler