The La Salle Causeway is a

causeway A causeway is a track, road or railway on the upper point of an embankment across "a low, or wet place, or piece of water". It can be constructed of earth, masonry, wood, or concrete. One of the earliest known wooden causeways is the Sweet T ...

that allows Highway 2 to cross the Cataraqui River (the southern entrance of the Rideau Canal) at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. The causeway separates Kingston's inner and outer harbours. Construction of the causeway was completed on April 15, 1917. The causeway transports approximately 23,000 vehicles daily. Three bridges are incorporated into the causeway, the center one being a Strauss

trunnion A trunnion () is a cylinder, cylindrical Boss (engineering), protrusion used as a mounting or pivoting point. First associated with cannons, they are an important military development. In mechanical engineering (see the Trunnion#Trunnion bearin ...

bascule lift bridge, which was designed by Joseph Strauss, who designed the

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. The La Salle Causeway was named after

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and North American fur trade, fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada ...

. who oversaw the construction of Fort Frontenac in 1673 at what is now the western end of the causeway.

History

The first attempt at transportation across the river was a cable-operated scow type of

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

that began operating in 1786. Two rowboats were often available for use as well. In 1826, the Cataraqui Bridge Company was formed to build a wooden bridge "1800 feet long by 25 feet wide and built on stone piers" (549 × 7.6 m).Armstrong 1973, P. 168 The Cataraqui Bridge was opened in 1829.Armstrong 1973, P. 168 Tolls were collected from a toll booth on the west end of the bridge, and since pedestrians were charged a penny, the bridge was popularly known as the "Penny Bridge." A

drawbridge A drawbridge or draw-bridge is a type of moveable bridge typically at the entrance to a castle or tower surrounded by a moat. In some forms of English, including American English, the word ''drawbridge'' commonly refers to all types of moveable b ...

allowed larger vessels to pass through but was eventually replaced by an easier-to-operate swing bridge. In 1917, the Penny Bridge was replaced by the causeway which included three bridges: two bridges at each end of the causeway, and the center bascule lift bridge. Only the original center lift bridge remains since the steel bridges at the east and the west ends of the causeway were replaced with concrete bridges in 1962 and 1993, respectively. On March 30, 2024, a diagonal steel truss element supporting the counterweight on the lift bridge was damaged while work was carried out to strengthen it. Public Services and Procurement Canada soon followed with an announcement about a long-term closure of the bridge. On May 28, 2024, Public Services and Procurement Canada announced that the lift bridge will be demolished and replaced by a new moveable bridge. On October 3, 2024, a temporary modular bridge that has replaced the lift bridge was opened to traffic and pedestrians.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Armstrong, Alvin. ''Buckskin to Broadloom - Kingston Grows Up''. Kingston Whig-Standard, 1973. No ISBN. * Mika, Nick and Helma et al. ''Kingston, Historic City''. Belleville: Mika Publishing Co., 1987. . {{Coord, 44, 14, 4.8, N, 76, 28, 28.5, W, type:landmark, display=title Causeways in Canada Bridges completed in 1917 Road bridges in Ontario Transport in Kingston, Ontario Buildings and structures in Kingston, Ontario Former toll bridges in Canada Former segments of Ontario Highway 2

History

See also

References