A thousand birthday greetings for US-Canada Thousand Island Bridge

The Canada-US Thousand Island Bridge system celebrated its 80th birthday in August with presentations and an open house at its US headquarters. The 33.7km three-bridge system over the St Lawrence River took 16 months to build and was completed 10 weeks ahead of schedule. It runs from Collins Landing near Alexandria Bay in the US state of New York to the small town of Ivy Lea in the Canadian province of Ontario. The system connects US Interstate 81 and Canada’s Highway 401, a major motorway between Montre
August 21, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
The Canada-US Thousand Island Bridge system celebrated its 80th birthday in August with presentations and an open house at its US headquarters.


The 33.7km three-bridge system over the St Lawrence River took 16 months to build and was completed 10 weeks ahead of schedule. It runs from Collins Landing near Alexandria Bay in the US state of New York to the small town of Ivy Lea in the Canadian province of Ontario. The system connects US Interstate 81 and Canada’s Highway 401, a major motorway between Montreal and Toronto, ending in Windsor on the Ontario border with the US state of Michigan.

The 1,370m crossing over the American channel of the river - from the US mainland to Wellesley Island - consists of a suspension bridge with a main span of around 245m and nearly 46m of clearance above the river.

The Canadian crossing includes the 183m continuous Warren Truss span connecting Hill Island to Constance Island, a steel arch of 106m spans from Constance Island to Georgina Island and a suspension bridge of 229m from Georgina Island to the Canadian mainland. The Canadian span from abutment to abutment is 1,015m and the suspension span provides 37m of river clearance.

The boundary at the International Rift boundary – the channel between Wellesley Island and Hill Island - is bridged by two parallel 27.4m rigid-frame arched spans of reinforced concrete with masonry facing. Originally there was only one bridge at boundary but due to increased traffic it was twinned in 1959.

Operation of the Thousand Islands Bridge system is shared under a joint agreement that created the US based Thousand Islands Bridge Authority which estimates that there are 2,000 vehicle-cross the annually. The system’s original consulting engineer was Robinson and Steinman of New York City that  continues to do so today but as 3220 Parsons Transportation, notes the authority.

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • New York’s new bridge opens
    September 10, 2018
    The second span of the New York’s new cable-stayed bridge has now been completed and has opened to traffic. The final span of the Governor Mario M Cuomo Bridge, which replaced the Tappan Zee Bridge, has now been opened to drivers. The opening was delayed slightly due to concerns over the state of a section of the old bridge, now being demolished. The new link was constructed by a joint venture headed by Fluor. With the new bridge opening, all four lanes of eastbound traffic shifted to the new second span. T
    Read More
  • Highway 407 Revisited – smart tollroad extension
    June 7, 2016
    In the late 1990s, World Highways published a supplement on construction of Canada’s Highway 407, the world’s first all-electronic toll road. But how successful has it been? David Arminas reports from Toronto The head office for 407 ETR Concession Company is a low-rise building next to exit 59, just north of Toronto, Canada’s economic powerhouse. The building may be non-descript but inside is the advanced technical heart of Highway 407 ETR – Express Toll Route. It houses the latest toll monitoring techno
    Read More
  • Cross Fraser Partnership wins BC tunnel work
    September 27, 2024
    The partnership for the tunnel work near Vancouver in Canada consists of Pomerleau BC, Bouygues Construction Canada and Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas Canada (FCC) and is supported by design and engineering consultant Arcadis.
    Read More
  • Kuwait’s Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Causeway opens
    August 27, 2019
    World Highways revisits the world’s fourth longest sea bridge - four years to construct and which has slashed travel time between Kuwait’s largest island and the capital city
    Read More

Highlighted Content