FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2019
For further information contact:
Matt Davison
716.604.7772
matt@martingroupmarketing.com
Niagara Falls Bridge Commission Announces Temporary 35-Day Closure of Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and Niagara Falls, NY NEXUS Enrollment Centre to Accommodate Robert Moses Parkway Overpass Removal Project
NEXUS-only span and Enrollment Centre will be temporarily taken out of service to ensure traveler and motorist safety; Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and Rainbow Bridge crossings will offer extended NEXUS lanes hours during outage period
LEWISTON, NY – Today the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) announced that as part of the Spring 2019 removal of two miles of the former Robert Moses Parkway–now known as the Niagara Scenic Parkway–along the Niagara Gorge in Niagara Falls, NY, the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge (Whirlpool Bridge) and the Niagara Falls, NY NEXUS Enrollment Centre will be temporarily out of service from April 1st to May 5 th, 2019. Scheduled to re-open Monday, May 6th at 7 am. Provisions
have been made to allow the Maple Leaf AMTRAK train that connects Niagara Falls, NY to Niagara Falls, ON to remain operational during this temporary closure.
“For the safety of the traveling public, as well as Niagara Falls Bridge Commission and U.S. Customs and Border Protection staff members, the Commission has made the decision to close the Whirlpool Bridge and the Niagara Falls, NY NEXUS Enrollment Centre for one month’s time during the Robert Moses Parkway Overpass Removal Project” said Kenneth Bieger, general manager of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. “During the closure, the Lewiston-Queenston and Rainbow Bridges will
offer extended hours of NEXUS lane availability, in order to accommodate any pre-approved travelers that would have otherwise used the Whirlpool Bridge.”
During the Spring of 2019, the New York State Department of Transportation and the New York Power Authority will remove a two-mile stretch of the former Robert Moses Parkway, a construction project which includes the removal of a 1,700-foot viaduct overpass that crosses directly above the Whirlpool Bridge and its U.S. Customs and Border Protection plaza.
The closure of the Whirlpool Bridge will take place from April 1st to May 5
th, 2019.
To assist with the redirection of NEXUS members who utilize the Whirlpool Bridge, CBP and CBSA will staff NEXUS lanes at the Lewiston-Queenston and Rainbow Bridge
during the following hours:
Canada Bound
Lewiston-Queenston Bridge Monday – Sunday
7am – 11pm
Rainbow Bridge Monday – Sunday
7am – 11pm
U.S. Bound
Lewiston – Queenston Bridge Monday – Friday
6am – 8am
Rainbow Bridge Monday – Sunday
7am – 11pm
Additional information can be obtained by visiting: www.niagarafallsbridges.com
“The end result of this Robert Moses Removal Project will be an expanded waterfront and addedNiagara River Gorge access for residents, tourists, and visitors, and new green space within the local trail system. We’re committed to doing our part to ensure the completion of this project proceeds unimpeded” said Bieger.
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, in partnership with the
New York State Department of Transportation, the City of Niagara Falls, Empire State
Development, and the New York Power Authority, are the key parties advancing the Robert Moses Parkway Removal Project. New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced $42 million in State funding to undertake final design and construction of the project.
The oldest of the three spans under the auspices of the NFBC, the Whirlpool Bridge was opened in 1897 and purchased by the Commission in 1959. The Whirlpool Bridge is a two-deck steel arch bridge that soars 225 feet above the Niagara Rapids, spans 550 feet and has a total length of 1,069 feet. The upper deck is dedicated for rail crossings, while the lower roadway is dedicated to NEXUS passenger vehicles only.
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About the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission:
The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission is a unique, bi-national body. Canada and the U.S. are equally represented on the NFBC through the bi-national appointment of an eight-member Board of Commissioners. A Joint Resolution of the 1938 U.S. Congressional Third Session created the framework for the NFBC. In 1939, the Province of Ontario, Canada licensed the NFBC under The Extra Provincial Corporations Act and amended the Highway Improvement Act to authorize the appropriation of land in Ontario for transfer to the NFBC. Initially established to finance, construct and operate the Rainbow Bridge, the Commission proved efficient and effective at its mission. The NFBC’s powers and authority were thereafter expanded through amendments to the Joint Resolution in the U.S., and by the Rainbow Bridge Amendment Act of 1959 and the Queenston Bridge Act of 1959 in Canada. Together, these enactments empowered the NFBC to assume responsibilities for the Whirlpool Rapids (Lower) and Lewiston-Queenston Bridges. Today, in addition to owning and operating three international bridges, the NFBC builds and maintains facilities for Customs and Immigration functions on both sides of the international border. The NFBC is self-supportive, largely through user fees (tolls) and private-sector tenant leases. NFBC is authorized to conduct international commercial financial transactions and empowered to issue tax-exempt bonds in the United States.