Gananoque River Bridge

Last updated
Gananoque River Bridge
Coordinates 44°21′34″N76°11′24″W / 44.3595817°N 76.1900058°W / 44.3595817; -76.1900058 Coordinates: 44°21′34″N76°11′24″W / 44.3595817°N 76.1900058°W / 44.3595817; -76.1900058
Carries CN Rail Kingston subdivision
Crosses Gananoque River
Locale United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada
OwnerCN Rail
Characteristics
No. of spans4
History
Opened1903 (1903)
Location
Gananoque River Bridge

The Gananoque River Bridge is a railway bridge across the Gananoque River in the municipality of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in eastern Ontario, Canada, located between Montreal and Toronto at mile 155.9 in the Canadian National Railway Kingston subdivision. It consists of four identical spans carrying single track supported on common piers and abutments and was built in 1902–1903 according to Grand Trunk Railroad specifications of 1900. The bridge carries all CN freight traffic between Toronto and Montreal, and all Via Rail Corridor passenger rail traffic between Toronto and Ottawa/Montreal.

Contents

Technical details

Map showing the bridge. Gananoque River Bridge OSM map.png
Map showing the bridge.

Each span has a total length of 20.091 metres (65 ft 11 in) and is composed of two plate girders with a depth of 1.69 metres (5 ft 7 in) each with a 2.134-metre (7 ft) spacing. The entire bridge structure is riveted with 22.2 mm (0.875 in.) rivets. The bridge is made of an open hearth-type steel which closely resembles today's mild steel (ASTM A36 steel).

A single railway track is located symmetrically on top of the girder flanges. The 132-pound (60 kg) type rails are supported by 250-by-250-millimetre (9.8 in × 9.8 in) timber railway ties in section with a 356-millimetre (14 in) spacing.

A 1991 engineering study showed "no major structural deficiency of the bridge superstructure in terms of excessive stresses or deflections under normal traffic conditions". Tests indicated that the static strength of the bridge sufficient to allow trains running at speeds not exceeding 96 km/h (60 mph). [1]

Rehabilitation

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville Council has sought to rehabilitate the bridge. In January 2013, council estimated the total cost of the bridge rehabilitation at $1.2-million. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

Brockville City in Ontario, Canada

Brockville, formerly Elizabethtown, is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada in the Thousand Islands region. Although it is the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, it is politically independent of the county. It is included with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.

Albert Bridge, Brisbane

Albert Bridge is a heritage-listed railway bridge of steel truss design crossing the Brisbane River between Indooroopilly and Chelmer in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was designed by Henry Charles Stanley and built from 1894 to 1895 by John McCormick & Son as a replacement for an earlier bridge lost to flooding in 1893. Both bridges were named in honour of the Prince of Wales, Prince Albert. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

Gananoque Town in Ontario, Canada

Gananoque is a town in the Leeds and Grenville area of Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,159 year-round residents in the 2016 Canadian Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred to as "Islanders" because of the Thousand Islands in the Saint Lawrence River, Gananoque's most important tourist attraction. The Gananoque River flows through the town and the St. Lawrence River serves as the southern boundary of the town.

United Counties of Leeds and Grenville County in Ontario, Canada

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, commonly known as Leeds Grenville, is a county in Ontario, Canada, in the Eastern Ontario subregion of Southern Ontario. It fronts on the Saint Lawrence River and the international boundary between Canada and the United States. The county seat is Brockville. The county was formed by the union of the historical counties of Leeds and Grenville in 1850.

Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes

Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons since 1979. Prior to the 2015 election, the riding was known as Leeds—Grenville.

Gananoque station

Gananoque railway station in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada is served by Via Rail trains running from Toronto to Ottawa and Montreal. The station is an unstaffed but heated shelter.

King's Highway 137, commonly referred to as Highway 137, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario that serves to connect the northern end of Interstate 81 in New York with Highway 401, via the Canadian span of the Thousand Islands Bridge. While this road connected to the international bridge when it opened in August 1938, it was not designated as a King's Highway until 1965. Highway 137 passes through a portion of the Canadian Shield, a geographic feature which aided construction of the three Canadian spans of the Thousand Islands Bridge. These bridges, all of different designs, travel 538 m (1,765 ft) across the Saint Lawrence River. Highway 137 is 4.3 km (2.7 mi) in length and is located entirely within the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.

David Ford Jones

David Ford Jones was a Canadian manufacturer and political figure in Ontario. He represented Leeds South in the House of Commons of Canada as a Conservative member from 1874 to 1882.

The Thousand Islands Parkway is a scenic parkway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It extends easterly from an interchange with Highway 401 in Gananoque for approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) to rejoin Highway 401 near the community of Butternut Bay, west of Brockville. The parkway follows the north shore of the St. Lawrence River, and was formerly designated Highway 2S until 1970. It passes through the communities of Gray's Beach, Halsteads Bay, Ivy Lea, Darlingside, Rockport, Narrows, La Rue Mills and Mallorytown Landing, as well as providing access to the three inland properties of the Thousand Islands National Park. Highway 137, which meets the parkway near its midpoint, provides access to the Interstate 81 in New York via the Thousand Islands Bridge.

Herbert Stone MacDonald

Herbert Stone MacDonald was an Ontario lawyer, judge and political figure. He represented Leeds South in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Conservative member from 1871 to 1873.

Dickabram Bridge

Dickabram Bridge is a heritage-listed road-and-rail bridge over the Mary River between Miva and Theebine, both in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. It was the major bridge on the Kingaroy railway line. It was designed by Henry Charles Stanley and built from 1885 to 1886 by Owen McDermott & Co. It is also known as Mary River Bridge (Miva). The bridge was registered on the former Register of the National Estate in 1988. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 21 October 1992.

Godavari Arch Bridge Bridge in India

The Godavari Arch Bridge is a bowstring-girder bridge that spans the Godavari River in Rajahmundry, India. It is the latest of the three bridges that span the Godavari river at Rajahmundry. The Havelock Bridge being the earliest, was built in 1897, and having served its full utility, was decommissioned in 1997. The second bridge known as the Godavari Bridge is a truss bridge and is Asia's second longest railroad bridge.

CN Kingston Subdivision

Canadian National Railway's Kingston Subdivision, or Kingston Sub for short, is a major railway line connecting Toronto with Montreal that carries the majority of CN traffic between these points. The line was originally the main trunk for the Grand Trunk Railway between these cities, although there has been some realignment of the route between these cities. The majority of the Kingston Sub runs close to the northern bank of Lake Ontario and the Saint Lawrence River.

Grand Narrows Bridge Canadian railway bridge

The Grand Narrows Bridge is a Canadian railway bridge crossing between Victoria County, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton County. At 516.33 m (1,694 ft), it is the longest railroad bridge in the province. The bridge incorporates a swing span at its eastern end to permit the continued passage of marine traffic through the strait.

Dufferin Street bridges

The Dufferin Street bridges are two inter-connected vehicular bridges in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The bridges carry Dufferin Street over a railway corridor and the Gardiner Expressway to Exhibition Place. The bridges closed to vehicular traffic in 2013. Temporary structures, namely Bailey bridges over the railway tracks, will be built in 2013-2014 to allow a resumption of traffic in early 2014. Beginning in 2016 the bridges will be completely rebuilt to allow more tracks to cross underneath and create a single span to the CNE grounds. As of March 2019 the spans over the Gardiner Expressway remain in place and the bailey bridges replacing the older outer pedestrian bridges of the northern span with the inner vehicular steel plate box girder bridge still in place.

King's Highway 32, commonly referred to as Highway 32, was a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The 19.6-kilometre (12.2 mi)-long route connected Highway 2 in Gananoque with Highway 15 east of Seeleys Bay, providing a quick alternative route between the two highways. It also featured an interchange with Highway 401. Highway 32 was assumed in 1929, and generally remained unchanged throughout its existence until 1998, when it was decommissioned and transferred to the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. It was subsequently redesignated as Leeds and Grenville County Road 32.

Nipigon River Bridge

The Nipigon River Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge in Canada carrying Highway 11 and Highway 17, designated as part of the Trans-Canada Highway, across the Nipigon River near Nipigon, Ontario.

Perley Bridge Former bridge across the Ottawa River in Canada

The Perley Bridge was a bridge connecting Hawkesbury, Ontario and Grenville, Quebec. It crossed the Ottawa River via Chenail Island. It was named for George Perley, Canadian Member of Parliament representing the Argenteuil district in southern Quebec. He first advocated for a crossing at Hawkesbury in 1909. The bridge was known as the Hawkesbury–Grenville Bridge, or less frequently the Grenville–Hawkesbury Bridge prior to its completion in 1931 when the name Perley was applied. It was replaced by the Long-Sault Bridge in 1998.

Ultimo Road railway underbridge

The Ultimo Road railway underbridge is a heritage-listed former railway bridge located on the former Darling Harbour goods railway line in the inner city Sydney suburb of Ultimo in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by engineering staff in the Existing Lines branch of the New South Wales Public Works Department and built in 1879. The property is owned by RailCorp, an agency of the Government of New South Wales. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.

References

  1. PIETRASZ, TOMASZ T.; OOMMEN, GEORGE (1991). "Static and dynamic behaviours of an 85-year-old steel railway bridge". Can. J. Civ. Eng. Canadian Society for Civil Engineering/ NRC Research Press. 18 (2): 201–213. doi:10.1139/l91-025 . Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  2. "Rural Leeds & Grenville gets major internet access boost". Inside Brockville. Metroland Media. Feb 14, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  3. The Corporation of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville (January 8, 2013). "Special Council Minutes" (PDF) (Press release). Brockville Ontario: United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. Retrieved 2014-03-16.