When was the honeymoon bridge built

It was only a matter of time until the bridge would collapse. The bridge remained intact for several days, drawing thousands of people who came to wait for the end of the bridge to come. The ice had pushed the bridge away from its abutment on the American side causing the bridge to be pulled of its abutment on the Canadian shore. It fell to the river in one piece. On February 2nd, salvage operations began with attempts to break the bridge into four parts and to remove the debris lying on the slopes of the gorge walls.

For safety sake the span was broken into two pieces by use of dynamite. The two pieces of the center span of the bridge remained on the ice until April 12thth when the ice broke apart and the two pieces disappeared under the surface. In , one year after the completion of the Upper Steel Arch Bridge one of the most spectacular ice bridges ever to be seen formed below the Falls. The ice gathered around the abutments of the bridge to a height of 80 feet 24m extending to the base of the arch.

The pressure of the ice applied so much pressure against the steel abutments that it caused several steel pieces to bend. Men on both sides of the border were employed to blast the ice away from the abutments. During the summer months a series of protective walls were built around the abutments to further protect them from the onslaught of winter ice.

These precautions seemed sufficient until January 23rd , when a sudden wind storm on Lake Erie sent a deluge of ice over the Falls. Within twelve hours the river below the Falls was jammed with ice, of such enormous proportions, that the pressure pushing against the bridge abutments and the hinge supports of the arch caused severe structural damage. It was inevitable that the bridge would collapse.

The bridge remained intact for several days, drawing thousands of people who came to wait for the end of the bridge to come. Two exciting days in January of yet again attracted worldwide attention. A combination of cold weather and a warm south-west wind sent vast masses of Lake Erie ice plunging down the upper Niagara River and over the two cataracts forming another stupendous ice jam. This build up of ice on Tuesday, January 25, shattered the docks of the Maid of the Mist and crumpled the Maid of the Mist caretaker's home.

The loud humming of the great generators in the Ontario Power Generating Plant were stopped when they were buried by great heaps of ice. An even greater tragedy was about to happen. Dennis Gannon is a member of the Historical Society of St. He may be reached at gannond yahoo. Report an error. Journalistic Standards. About The Tribune. More Life.