Glendale Avenue Bridge

There are a number of vertical lift bridges on the Welland Canal. While all are beautiful, and each has something that sets them apart from the rest, they were all built to a standard plan. While on my trip to the Niagara region, I picked this vertical lift bridge to photograph very extensively, and then I took a limited number of pictures of a couple others that I came across. By doing so, I learned a lot about the Welland Canal vertical lift bridges in general through this Glendale Avenue Bridge, and then learned about some of the specific differences between them by photographing a couple others. The other two I photographed were the KH-20 Bridge, and the Main Street Bridge in Welland. The KH-20 Bridge is noted for having different style of diagonal members, while the Welland Main Street Bridge has a skewed alignment. I should also point out that I did happen to have a freighter come by while at Glendale Avenue, and so have no pictures of the bridge in raised posistion. To see one of these vertical lifts while up, see the KH-20 Vertical Lift page.

The Glendale Avenue Bridge is an example of a standard plan truss vertical lift bridge over the Welland Canal. The actual bridge span is a camelback Pratt through truss. It has nine panels. Connections are riveted, and v-lacing is present on the verticals and lattice is on the bottom of the top chord. The towers of the bridge have the appearance and construction of a truss bridge themselves. Many members on the towers are v-laced, and a-frame bracing forms a portal for the towers. The east portal bracing for the towers has been replaced. I assume some tall truck creamed the originals, necessitating their replacement! There are no guardrails for cars, which is probably how the bridge was built. I think it is cool that they are not afraid to leave the bridge guardrail-less, especially if that is how it was originally. There are ornate lattice guardrails with scrollwork designs on top for the cantilevered pedestrian sidewalks on both sides of the bridge. These guardrails can be found on many Welland Canal Bridges, including some of the other bridge types, like the plate girder bascule on Lakeshore Road. The towers of the bridge are quite tall, and huge concrete counterweights hang from them. Huge chains are attached to part of these counterweights. Signs near the vertical lift bridge indicate that the bridge is now remotely controlled, using cameras. There is no one stationed right at the bridge anymore to operate it. Apparently, one person can operate any number of bridges from one location these days.

Most of the bridges into Ontario do not fit well into the goal of this website, which is to document the risk that truss bridges are in. Rather, the Ontario bridges should serve as an example to states like Pennsylvania and Michigan who refuse to maintain, let alone restore, a bridge for vehicular traffic. Ontario has shown that historic bridges, when taken care of, can exist in harmony with today's roadways. The Glendale Avenue Bridge is no exception, as it was in stunning condition when I visited it. It serves vehicular traffic on its deck, and raises for boat traffic very effectively. The truss structure, with its extensive v-lacing create a beautiful, complex bridge which adds to the interest of the canal. I hope that this bridge continues to be maintained.