Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge | |
 Aerial picture of the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge and the Soo Locks |
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| Carries | Two lanes of traffic |
|---|---|
| Crosses | St. Marys River |
| Locale | Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan-Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario |
| Design | truss arch bridge |
| Total length | 2.8 miles |
| Width | 28 feet |
| Clearance below | 124 feet |
| AADT | 7,000 vehicles daily (average), 10,000 vehicles daily (peak) |
| Opening date | 1962 |
| Toll | $1.50 (USD), $1.70 (CAD) for passenger cars; increases to $2.00 (USD), $2.25 (CAD) on April 1, 2007 |
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The International Bridge, or, more properly, the Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge, spans the St. Marys River between the United States and Canada connecting the twin cities of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It serves as the northern terminus of Interstate 75. The International Bridge began construction in 1960 and officially opened to traffic on October 31, 1962. Its day to day operation is carried on by the International Bridge Administration (IBA) under the supervision of the Joint International Bridge Authority (JIBA), which succeeded the International Bridge Authority (IBA, created in 1935) in 2000.
This is a steel truss arch bridge with suspended deck. There are two separate spans, a double arch span on the American side and a single arch span on the Canadian side. The double arch spans cross the Soo Locks. In Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, the bridge connects to a city street in the downtown core.
On June 6, 2005, the Ontario government announced a construction project to build a dedicated truck bypass route to connect the bridge directly to Highway 17 in the north end of the city. The city had lobbied for this for some time, since the bridge's terminus at a city street was viewed by many residents of the city as a safety concern. However, the bridge terminus itself cannot be easily relocated due to the already highly urbanized nature of the Sault, Ontario waterfront. The truck route, known as Carmen's Way in memory of the city's former federal Member of Parliament Carmen Provenzano, was officially opened in September of 2006.
The total length of the bridge approaches 2.8 miles (4.5 km).
[edit] References
- Bridge Statistics & Trivia. Michigan Department of Transportation. Retrieved on 2006-05-12.
