The Thousand Islands International Bridge () is an American-maintained international bridge system over the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

connecting northern

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with southeastern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Constructed in 1937, with additions in 1959, the bridges span the Canada–US border in the middle of the

Thousand Islands The Thousand Islands (, ) constitute a North American archipelago of 1,864 islands that straddles the Canada–US border in the Saint Lawrence River as it emerges from the northeast corner of Lake Ontario. They stretch for about downstream fr ...

region. All bridges in the system carry two lanes of traffic, one in each direction, with pedestrian sidewalks.

Structure

The Thousand Islands International Bridge system is a series of five bridges spanning the St. Lawrence River. From south to north, they are: # American mainland to Wellesley Island (main span) # Wellesley Island to

Hill Island Hill Island is a Baffin Island offshore island located in the Arctic Archipelago in the territory of Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated o ...

(international crossing) # Hill Island to Constance Island # Constance Island to Georgina Island # Georgina Island to Canadian mainland The system's southern end connects with

Interstate 81 Interstate 81 (I-81) is a north–south (physically northeast–southwest) Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40, I-40 in Dandridge, Tennessee, Dandridge, Tennessee; its nort ...

and the northern end with

Highway 401 King's Highway 401, commonly referred to as Highway 401 and also known by its official name as the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway or colloquially referred to as the four-oh-one, is a controlled-access 400-series highway in the Canadian prov ...

via Highway 137. There is also an interchange with the Thousand Islands Parkway on the Ontario side. The actual international border bridge crossing is a set of two parallel bridges between Wellesley Island in the United States and

in Canada.

Administration

The bridge system is administered by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, a New York State public benefit corporation, whose seven board members (Four Americans and three Canadians) are appointed by the Jefferson County Board of Legislators. The Authority also maintains and administers Boldt Castle. Tolls are paid only by cash,

E-ZPass E-ZPass Interagency Group (E-ZPass Group trade name and E-ZPass product brand) is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the eastern half of the United States. The group itself is composed of ...

, or Commuter Discount Fare Trip Tags, which are prepaid for 72 trips (US$48.00). The Bridge Authority is a member of the multi-state

consortium, and introduced

electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...

in June 2019. No other ETC transponders are currently offered or accepted, although the Bridge Authority offers sales of transponders of Florida's SunPass for the convenience of Canadian travelers en route to Florida.

Border crossing

The Thousand Islands Border Crossing connects the towns of Alexandria Bay, New York, and

Ivy Lea, Ontario Leeds and the Thousand Islands is a township (Canada), township in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario, located within the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. The township is located along the St. Lawrence R ...

, 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. The US border station at Alexandria Bay is sometimes called Thousand Islands. The Canada border station of Lansdowne is sometimes called Gananoque, for the nearby

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

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 on Heart Island and at Cape Vincent, New York, and Canada has seasonal vessel inspection stations at Rockport, Ontario, and

Gananoque, Ontario Gananoque ( ) is a town in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville of Ontario, Canada. The town had a population of 5,383 year-round residents in the 2021 Canadian census, 2021 Canadian Census, as well as summer residents sometimes referred t ...

. Both

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; , ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border guard, border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and Customs, customs services in Canada. ...

(CBSA) and the

U.S. Customs and Border Protection United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is the country's primary border control organization, charged with regulating and facilita ...

(CBP) travel to selected ports and marinas on request for inspections.

History

The entire Thousand Islands Bridge system took sixteen months to build, beginning with a ground-breaking on April 30, 1937. Completed ten weeks ahead of schedule, the bridges opened on August 18, 1938, with the ribbon cut by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and Prime Minister

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

. Its total cost was $3.05 million (equivalent to $ million in dollars). Shortly after opening, the bridge displayed aerodynamic oscillation problems that were quickly corrected via structural upgrades. In its first year of operation, over 118,000 vehicles crossed the bridge. Today, annual crossings exceed 2,000,000 vehicles.

Gallery

File:DSCN4277 1000islandsbridge e.jpg, Toll plaza on the Thousand Islands Bridge File:Thousand Islands Bridge from Ivy Lea 2.jpg, Thousand Island bridge view from Ivy Lea File:Thousand Islands Bridge.jpg, Thousand Islands Bridge File:大桥 - panoramio (4).jpg, Thousand Islands Bridge from river File:Thousand Islands Bridge plaque.jpg, The international boundary plaque on the bridge File:Thousand Islands Bridge July 2015 002.jpg, Portion of ON-137 on Hill Island

References

External links

Thousand Islands Bridge Authority

Ian Coristine's Thousand Islands Canadian Span & Area GalleryTim Kocher's Riverview Photography of Ships Navigating Under the American Span & Gallery

CBC Digital Archives: Recording of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's address at the opening of the Thousand Islands Bridge
{{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place =

St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...

, bridge = Thousand Islands Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream =

Lake Ontario Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north, west, and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south and east by the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The Canada–United Sta ...

, upstream signs = , downstream = Ogdensburg-Prescott International Bridge , downstream signs = Bridges completed in 1937 Bridges over the Saint Lawrence River Buildings and structures in Leeds and Grenville United Counties Canada–United States bridges Interstate 81 Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in Canada Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Road bridges in New York (state) Road bridges in Ontario Suspension bridges in Canada Suspension bridges in New York (state) Thousand Islands Toll bridges in Canada Toll bridges in New York (state) Tolled sections of Interstate Highways Transport in Leeds and Grenville United Counties Transportation buildings and structures in Jefferson County, New York Truss bridges in Canada Truss bridges in the United States Walkable bridges on the Interstate Highway System