The Welland By-pass, completed in 1973, was a massive construction project on the Welland Canal in Ontario, Canada.
A new channel 13.4 km (8.3 mi) long was constructed, providing a shorter, more direct alignment between Port Robinson and Port Colborne and by-passing downtown Welland. The project helped improve navigation along the canal and alleviated problems the presence of a busy ship canal was causing in Welland.
Although the city of Welland had originally grown around the canal, by the 1960s the constant interruptions in the flow of the vehicular and rail traffic through the city became bothersome. A single ship would hold up traffic for at least ten minutes as it travelled under a vertical lift bridge. In periods of heavy ship traffic, a bridge might stay raised for multiple ships to pass, and long lines of cars, trucks and buses could be delayed more than 30 minutes. Additionally, many railroad yards and lines originally built on Welland's outskirts now found themselves in the middle of a growing city; the heavily used rail lines from Toronto to Buffalo were suffering delays, as well.
The old route, established in 1932 with the building of the fourth Welland Canal, was also inconvenient to the ships since it was twisting and narrow. The five vertical lift bridges and a railroad swing bridge, all within close distance of one another, made the manoeuvring tricky and the journey stressful. Captains complained of bulky buildings on the canal's edge blocking the line of sight. One of them commented, "The main thing every Lakes captain used to dread was Bridge 15 [built during the 3rd canal era, but in use until 1972], a railway bridge in the town of Welland with an abutment in the middle... I think every captain on the Lakes must have [scraped it] at one time or another." [1]
The by-pass project was a massive undertaking: 16.2 km² (4,000 acres) of land was expropriated for the construction. Approximately 50 million cubic metres of material was excavated. The new channel is 100 m (330 ft) wide, as compared to the 58 m (190 ft) width of the old channel. The channel's minimum depth is 9 m (30 ft). Two tunnels, the Main Street Tunnel and the Townline Tunnel , were constructed to allow vehicles and trains to pass beneath the canal.
To complement this, an aqueduct, to convey the Welland River under the new canal alignment, was built. The aqueduct's design is what is known as a four-tube inverted-syphon culvert, 200 m (660 ft) long, 28 m (92 ft) wide, and extending 9 m (30 ft) below the navigation channel. It was constructed from 30,000 cubic metres of concrete. Approximately 1.6 km (0.99 mi) of new river channel was constructed to route the river into the aqueduct. The creation of the syphon culvert lowered ground water levels for miles around, the project making many dug wells run dry. The St. Lawrence Seaway Authority denied responsibility, but paid many residents to have a drilled well installed to supply their water. (based on local witnesses)
In compensation for the loss of canal banks through the city of Welland, parts of which were being used as a docking area by local industries, the project incorporated a dock, separated from the main travel route.
Many of the area's rail lines, which had previously been constructed to fit around the existing alignment, had to be dramatically altered for the new alignment. An estimated 161 km (100 mi) of new track was laid at a cost of CAD$50 million. A Google map is available which shows the changes to the rail network as a result of the canal relocation, as well as changes made since. [2] This map also details the old and new routes of the canal.
The construction started with the sinking of the first shovel on June 9, 1967, and continued for six years. (During construction, a giant "Earth mover" working on the canal, accidentally struck and ruptured a buried natural gas line, which erupted into a torch-like flame approx 90–100 meters high; there were no injuries.) In a symbolic event watched by many residents, on a snowy night, Bridge #13 on Welland's East Main Street came up for the last time, lighted by floodlights, on December 15, 1972, the new bypass would be open to shipping for the next season. (The bridge was actually quietly opened the next day to allow the passage of a St. Lawrence Seaway service vessel.)
The Main Street Tunnel was officially opened on May 20, 1972, with the Townline Tunnel following on July 13. Rail traffic through the Townline Tunnel was inaugurated on January 31, 1973. The new canal was first traversed by the Canadian Coast Guard cutter Griffon on March 27, 1973. [3] The first commercial ship to pass through the by-pass was the M.V. Senneville on March 28, 1973. It carried a cargo of 1,063,868 bushels of barley in transit from Duluth, Minnesota to Port Cartier, Quebec. [4] The official opening ceremony for the Welland By-pass took place on July 14, 1973.
Overall, the project cost approximately CAD$188 million. The new channel reduced the length of the canal by 1.3 km (0.81 mi) and replaced six bridge crossings with the two new tunnels. It reduced the transit time through the Welland Canal by about 30 minutes (5%) as compared to the old alignment.
The Welland By-pass markedly simplified ship passage along the Welland Canal. The city was no longer dependent on often erratic ship schedules. (For instance, a scheduled city-wide bus service was only instituted after the relocation.)
A decision had to be made as to the use of the old alignment. Originally, one of the proposed ideas was for it to be filled in and an extension to Highway 406 be run in it. That never came to be, and instead the old canal was turned over to the city and renamed the Welland Recreational Waterway.
Recently, the city has seen the construction of a new Civic Centre, including the city hall and the public library downtown by the old canal.
Since the opening of the by-pass, Welland's east side has become a virtual island; separated from the rest of the Niagara Peninsula by the old canal channel to the west and by the by-pass channel to the east.
A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods.
Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. As of 2021, it had a population of 55,750.
The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, and part of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. The canal traverses the Niagara Peninsula between Port Weller on Lake Ontario, and Port Colborne on Lake Erie, and was erected because the Niagara River—the only natural waterway connecting the lakes—was unnavigable due to Niagara Falls. The Welland Canal enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment, and has followed four different routes since it opened.
The A2 is a major road in south-east England, connecting London with the English Channel port of Dover in Kent. This route has always been of importance as a connection between London and sea trade routes to Continental Europe. It was originally known as the Dover Road. The M2 motorway has replaced part of the A2 as the strategic route.
King's Highway 58, commonly referred to as Highway 58, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The route is divided into two segments with a combined length of 15.5 km (9.6 mi). The southern segment travels from Niagara Regional Road 3, formerly Highway 3, in Port Colborne, to the Highway 58A junction in the southern end of Welland, a distance of 7.2 km (4.5 mi). The northern segment begins at Highway 20 near Allanburg and travels north and west to a large junction with Highway 406 at the St. Catharines – Thorold boundary, a distance of 8.3 km (5.2 mi). An 18.1 km (11.2 mi) gap separates the two segments within Welland and Pelham. The entire route is located within the Regional Municipality of Niagara.
King's Highway 3, commonly referred to as Highway 3, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario which travels parallel to the northern shoreline of Lake Erie. It has three segments, the first of which travels from the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor to Highway 77 in Leamington. The second portion begins at Talbotville Royal outside of St. Thomas at Highway 4, and travels to the western city limits of Port Colborne. The road is regionally maintained within Port Colborne as Niagara Regional Road 3, but regains its provincial designation at Highway 140. Its third and final terminus is at Edgewood Park, within the Fort Erie town limits. From there, the road continues as Niagara Regional Road 3 to the Peace Bridge, where drivers can cross to the United States. The total length of Highway 3 is 258.2 km (160.4 mi), consisting of 49.2 km (30.6 mi) from Windsor to Leamington, 187.9 km (116.8 mi) from Talbotville Royal to Port Colborne and 21.1 km (13.1 mi) from Port Colborne to Edgewood Park.
King's Highway 406, commonly referred to as Highway 406, is a 400-series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The primary north–south route through the central portion of the Niagara Peninsula, Highway 406 connects Welland, Thorold and downtown St. Catharines to the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW).
Dain City is a small suburb at the southernmost part of Welland, Ontario, Canada. At one time, it was a mostly self-contained rural community at the junction of two significant rail lines, part of the Township of Humberstone, and was called Welland Junction. The name was changed to Dain City after it was annexed to the city of Welland in the mid-1950s. Dain City was built for, and by, the Marshall Dain Manufacturing Company, the area's main employer, as a "company town".
Cooks Mills is a small community in the easternmost part of the city of Welland in Ontario, Canada. It was established, and is still centred, on a Welland River tributary called Lyons Creek. It is almost entirely a bedroom community, as there are few employers located in the area.
King's Highway 140, commonly referred to as Highway 140, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The highway connects Port Colborne near Lake Erie with Highway 406 in Welland, via the Main Street Tunnel. It was constructed in the early 1970s as part of the Welland Bypass project of the Welland Canal, which resulted in the severance of several highways and rail lines. Opened to traffic in late 1972, several months following the tunnel, Highway 140 has remained unchanged since, despite growing calls to resign it as an extension of Highway 406.
The Main Street Tunnel, located in Welland, Ontario, Canada, is an underwater tunnel, carrying Niagara Road 27 and the unsigned designation of Highway 7146 under the Welland Canal. It is named as a part of East Main Street.
The Townline Tunnel is an underwater tunnel in Welland, Ontario, Canada carrying Highway 58A as well as the Canadian Pacific Railway under the Welland Canal.
The Welland Recreational Waterway is a water channel in the city of Welland, Ontario, Canada. It is an old alignment of the Welland Ship Canal that was abandoned after the construction of the Welland By-Pass in the 1970s. The Waterway is now managed by the Welland Recreational Canal Corporation to provide enjoyment for the city's residents. Most local residents refer to it as the old canal or simply the canal.
Navigable aqueducts are bridge structures that carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railways or roads. They are primarily distinguished by their size, carrying a larger cross-section of water than most water-supply aqueducts. Roman aqueducts were used to transport water and were created in Ancient Rome. The 662-metre (2,172 ft) long steel Briare aqueduct carrying the Canal latéral à la Loire over the River Loire was built in 1896. It was ranked as the longest navigable aqueduct in the world for more than a century, until the Magdeburg Water Bridge in Germany took the title in the early 21st century.
King's Highway 20, commonly referred to as Highway 20, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. Presently, it is a short 1.9 km (1.2 mi) stub between Highway 58 and Niagara Regional Road 70 in the City of Thorold, but until 1997 it connected Hamilton to Niagara Falls, serving several towns atop the Niagara Escarpment en route.
The Welland Canal has gone through many incarnations in its history. Today, five distinct canal-construction efforts are recognized. The retronym First Welland Canal is applied to the original canal, constructed from 1824 to 1829 and 1831 to 1833.
King's Highway 58A, commonly referred to as Highway 58A, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The short route serves to connect Highway 58 with Highway 140 and passes beneath the Welland Canal through the Townline Tunnel. The entire route is located within the city of Welland in the Regional Municipality of Niagara.
The Welland Canal Bridge 15 is a two-track Baltimore truss swing bridge located in the disused section of the Welland Canal within the city of Welland, Ontario. This section of canal is now known as the Welland Recreational Waterway. The bridge formerly carried the main line of the Canada Southern Railway (CASO) over the canal.
The Welland Canal - bridge 13, or as more commonly known locally, the Welland bridge is a vertical lift bridge located in the heart of downtown Welland, Ontario. The bridge crosses an abandoned portion of the Welland Canal known as the Welland Recreational Waterway.
The Nidd Aqueduct is an aqueduct or man-made watercourse in North Yorkshire, England. It feeds water from Angram and Scar House reservoirs in upper Nidderdale, North Yorkshire 32 mi (51 km) to Bradford in West Yorkshire. The aqueduct supplies 21,000,000 imp gal (95,000 m3) of water per day to Chellow Heights water treatment works. The aqueduct and the reservoirs it connects to are all maintained by Yorkshire Water.
