Burlington lift bridge raised for Hamilton-bound ships

scotto

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The Beach Strip
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Posted with permission from the Hamilton Spectator
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John Burman and Carmela Fragomeni Wed Apr 18 2012

The Burlington Canal Lift Bridge has been raised to allow freighters to get in and out of Hamilton Harbour.

Department of Public Works spokesperson Jeremy Link said Wednesday the bridge - which was stuck partway up after a cable broke Tuesday morning - was inched upwards during overnight to open harbour access.

The bridge is still closed to road traffic.

Engineers are still assessing the problem and the repair and no date has been set for re-opening the bridge.

Ships were beginning to stack up outside Hamilton Harbour before the bridge was raised. Two arrived after the bridge stuck Tuesday morning and three more are expected Wednesday.

The Hamilton Street Railway has set up detour routes around the bridge for routes which use Beach Boulevard.

The two freighters - a tanker and a cargo ship - were anchored in Lake Ontario off Burlington's waterfront and not far from the canal as engineers investigated the possibility of safely lifting the bridge completely so the ships can pass.

The movable bridge's opening sections became stuck partway up at 25 metres at 9:40 a.m. Tuesday after a cable broke and stopped the bridge from opening further. Ships could not pass, nor could road and pedestrian traffic use the bridge.

The lift bridge yearly allows about 6,500 ships, including about 700 cargo carrying ships, to pass through the canal and into Hamilton Harbour. An average 10,000 vehicles pass over it each day according to 2009 statistics.

Closure of the bridge affects marine traffic in and out of Hamilton Harbour as well as vehicle traffic on Eastport Drive in Hamilton and Lakeshore Road traffic in Burlington. The bridge is also a link in the emergency road detour system for the Queen Elizabeth Way.

Hamilton Port Authority spokesperson Janet Balfour said the impact on the port so far has been minimal, since neither ship anchored in the lake has time sensitive cargo.

The impact will be much larger on Wednesday however, if engineers do not get the bridge working again. Three more freighters are expected and delays to them will add to the companies waiting for material, said Balfour, the Authority's vice-president of human resources and corporate services.

Public Works Canada spokesman Jeremy Link confirmed a cable broke on the bridge's auxiliary counterweight used to raise and lower the bridge. There were no injuries and no decision on when the bridge will reopen.

In January this year, the Canadian government announced a $1.9 million contract to prepare construction drawings and specifications for upgrades to the bridge's major electrical systems. Ottawa said the systems are nearing the end of their service life. Construction is expected to start in 2014.

Link said the engineers trying to figure out if the bridge can be opened completely have to also ensure they can safely close it - the possibility of high winds make the two upright sections unsafe.

The bridge closure has forced the HSR to detour '11 Parkdale' buses via the QEW Skyway between Woodward Ave. and North Shore Blvd. in Burlington. In the meantime it has set up a shuttle bus servicing the Beach Strip (Beach Boulevard in Hamilton) to connect with '11 Parkdale' buses. Details of the HSR detour are available on their website.

For a lift bridge status update, see thespec.com.

Lift Bridge Details

Spans the Burlington canal (opened in 1826)

Gives Hamilton Harbour navigable access to the Atlantic

5 movable bridges have been built at this site since 1830.

Present bridge opened in 1962

Vertical lift span: 110 ft.

Bridge opens about 4,000 times yearly

Lifts on demand for large vessels; on the hour and half-hour for pleasure craft

Source: Public Works and Government Services Canada

cfragomeni@thespec.com

905-526-3392

jburman@thespec.com

905-526-2469
 
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