Sault Ste Marie Canal emergency swing dam 3

The Sault Canal Emergency Swing Dam is an all-metal structure built by the

Dominion Bridge Company The Dominion Bridge Company, Limited was a Canadian steel bridge constructor originally based in Lachine, Quebec. From the core business of steel bridge component fabrication, the company diversified into related areas such as the fabrication of ...

in 1896. It sits along the Canadian

Sault Ste. Marie Canal The Sault Ste. Marie Canal is a National Historic Site in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, and is part of the national park system, managed by Parks Canada. It includes a lock to bypass the rapids on the St. Marys River. The first canal near the si ...

, to protect against the rush of water that would occur if something ever damaged the Sault locks. It operates by swinging over the canal and dropping

wicket gate A wicket gate, or simply a wicket, is a pedestrian door or gate, particularly one built into a larger door or into a wall or fence. Use in fortifications Wickets are typically small, narrow doors either alongside or within a larger castle or ...

s into the water. The Emergency Dam was put to the ultimate test on June 9, 1909, when the freighter ''Perry G. Walker'' crashed into the upstream lock sending a torrent of water crashing into the downstream lock. The Perry G. Walker and another ship the "Assiniboia" were sent back into the St. Marys River and another ship that was heading upstream out of the locks the "Crescent City" hit the channel wall. The swing dam proved its worth by slowing down the torrent of water. This example of emergency swing bridge is the last of nine ever built. Other examples were previous in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, USA and in the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

References

{{Coord, 46, 30, 47.74, N, 84, 21, 34.52, W, name=Sault Canal Emergency Swing Dam, display=title Dams in Ontario Dams completed in 1896 Buildings and structures in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario Transport in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario