Skip to main content

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.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Forming iconic structures
    July 18, 2012
    Specially designed and constructed formwork is being used to create some iconic bridges worldwide The Golden Ears Bridge over the Fraser River will unite the municipalities of Richmond, New Westminister and Delta in the scenic British Columbia province of Canada. The bridge, part of a CAD$800 million (US$670 million) project, is an 'extra dosed' cable stayed bridge, which means the deck will be supported by both cables and the structure itself. This design reduces the overall height of the two towers as req
  • Doka formwork rises above the Orinoco River in Venezuela
    July 8, 2016
    Taking a road and rail link across one of the biggest rivers in South America, together with its swamps and flood-plain, called for a new crossing of truly superlative dimensions. Two 135.5m pylons for the third bridge across the Orinoco River, at Caicara del Orinoco, in Venezuela took shape with a formwork solution and automatic climbing technology from Doka. The bridge has an overall length of just over 11km and the main bridge is nearly 2.3km long with the roadway 55m above the river. The two ident
  • Alberta funds more upgrades near Edmonton
    April 12, 2021
    The Canadian province will move ahead with work on Highway 15 and 19.
  • More roadblocks for Ontario Highway 413
    September 9, 2020
    A report by environmental groups claims the 400-series motorway is not needed.