Ferry Street Lift Bridge

Ferry Street Lift Bridge - Table of Contents.......... ................ Waterfront - Table of Contents

Ferry Street Lift Bridge
Foot of Ferry Street, Buffalo, NY

At I-190, head south toward Buffalo. Exit off Ontario Street and turn right onto Niagara Street. Take a right on Ferry Street (renamed Robert Rich Way) to access the Ferry Street Bridge which is the connector to Squaw Island and the Bird Island Pier.

TEXT (Beneath Illustrations)

Click on illustrations for larger size -- and additional information


Looking north on the Black Rock Channel	The bridge is lifting to allow the Miss Buffalo II to pass	Control booth	Control booth

Photo taken as the Miss Buffalo II passes under the lifted bridge	Looking south, with the Peace Bridge in the background	Concrete counterweight that allows the bridge to be lifted

Bascule
In mechanics an apparatus on the principle of the seesaw, in which one end rises as the other falls. Bascule bridge, a counterpoise or balanced drawbridge, which is opened by sinking the counterpoise and thus lifting the footway into the air.

Black Rock Channel
US Army Corps of Engineers

The Black Rock Channel extends from Buffalo Harbor to the Black Rock Lock. The waterway is 3 and 1/2 miles long and its navigation channel is at least 200 feet wide at all points. The lock and channel permit pleasure craft and commercial vessels up to 625 feet long with drafts up to 21 feet. The passage of commercial vessels is scheduled by radio from the Black Rock Lock.

The channel is crossed by three bridges: the Peace Bridge, the Ferry Street Bridge and the International Railway Bridge.

The Peace Bridge, located 1.3 miles from the south entrance to the channel is a fixed bridge with a clearance of 200 feet above Low Water Datum* (LWD).
The Ferry Bridge is located 1.9 miles from the south entrance. It is a lift bridge that has a clearance of 17.3 feet LWD when down.
The last bridge before the lock is the International Railway Bridge, 3.1 miles from the south channel entrance. It is a swing bridge which has a clearance of 17 feet LWD when closed.