Thousand Islands International Bridge | |
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 A view of the Canadian parts of the bridge system asON-137 traverses the St Lawrence River across Constance Island and then Georgina Island to reach Ontario mainland. Picture taken looking north from1000 Islands Tower. | |
| Coordinates | 44°20′50.71″N75°59′0.6″W / 44.3474194°N 75.983500°W /44.3474194; -75.983500 (Thousand Islands Bridge) |
| Carries | 2 lanes of I-81 and Highway 137 |
| Crosses | Saint Lawrence River |
| Locale | Wellesley Island,New York,United States toHill Island,Ontario, Canada |
| Official name | The Thousand Islands Bridge system |
| Maintained by | Thousand Islands Bridge Authority |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | suspension,open-spandrel deck arch bridge &truss bridge[1] |
| Total length | Total: 8.5 mi (13.7 km) |
| Longest span | American suspension: 800 ft (240 m) Canadian suspension: 750 ft (230 m) Canadian truss: 600 ft (180 m) |
| Clearance below | U.S.: 150 ft (46 m) Canada: 120 ft (37 m) |
| History | |
| Construction start | April 30, 1937; 88 years ago (April 30, 1937) |
| Opened | August 18. 1938; 87 years ago (August 18. 1938) |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | Varies $4.00–$26.00 (USD) or $5.00–$33.50 (CAD)[2] |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Thousand Islands International Bridge | |
TheThousand Islands International Bridge (French:Pont des Mille-îles) is an American-maintained international bridge system over theSaint Lawrence River connecting northernNew York in theUnited States with southeasternOntario inCanada. Constructed in 1937, with additions in 1959, the bridges span theCanada–US border in the middle of theThousand Islands region. All bridges in the system carry two lanes of traffic, one in each direction, with pedestrian sidewalks.
The Thousand Islands International Bridge system is a series of five bridges[3] spanning the St. Lawrence River. From south to north, they are:
The system's southern end connects withInterstate 81 and the northern end withHighway 401 viaHighway 137. There is also an interchange with theThousand Islands Parkway on the Ontario side.
The actual international border bridge crossing is a set of two parallel 90 ft (27 m) bridges betweenWellesley Island in the United States andHill Island in Canada.
The bridge system is administered by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, aNew York State public benefit corporation, whose seven board members (Four Americans and three Canadians) are appointed by theJefferson County Board of Legislators.[4] The Authority also maintains and administersBoldt Castle.
Tolls are paid only by cash,E-ZPass, or Commuter Discount Fare Trip Tags, which are prepaid for 72 trips (US$48.00). The Bridge Authority is a member of the multi-stateE-ZPass consortium, and introducedelectronic toll collection in June 2019.[5][6] No other ETC transponders are currently offered or accepted, although the Bridge Authority offers sales of transponders of Florida'sSunPass for the convenience of Canadian travelers en route to Florida.[7]
The Thousand Islands Border Crossing connects the towns ofAlexandria Bay, New York, andIvy Lea, Ontario, at the Thousand Islands Bridge.
It is the westernmost of the three St. Lawrence River crossings, and is very busy, with up to two-hour waits in the summer.[8] The US border station at Alexandria Bay is sometimes called Thousand Islands. The Canada border station of Lansdowne is sometimes called Gananoque, for the nearbytown where international ferry service is provided. These border stations are also responsible for inspecting vessel traffic between the countries. The US has seasonal vessel inspection stations onHeart Island and atCape Vincent, New York, and Canada has seasonal vessel inspection stations atRockport, Ontario, andGananoque, Ontario. BothCanada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and theU.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) travel to selected ports and marinas on request for inspections.
The entire Thousand Islands Bridge system took sixteen months to build, beginning with a ground-breaking on April 30, 1937.[9] Completed ten weeks ahead of schedule, the bridges opened on August 18, 1938, with the ribbon cut by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt and Prime MinisterWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King.[10] Its total cost was $3.05 million (equivalent to $52.14 million in 2024 dollars).
Shortly after opening, the bridge displayed aerodynamic oscillation problems that were quickly corrected via structural upgrades.[11]
In its first year of operation, over 118,000 vehicles crossed the bridge.[12] Today, annual crossings exceed 2,000,000 vehicles.[13]
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Bridges of theSt. Lawrence River | ||||
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