Allanburg, Ontario

Allanburg is a community within the City of Thorold, Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Welland Canal and Highway 20, both important transportation routes through the Niagara Peninsula. The two cross at a lift bridge, numbered as Bridge 11 by the Saint Lawrence Seaway Authority, but often known simply as the Allanburg Bridge. The bridge's fiery collision with a ship made national news in 2001.

Town Sign Mystery

During the summer of 2007, the Allanburg sign was vandelized. "City of Thorold" was covered with blue spray paint and was not visible. Soon after the city had fixed this problem, the sign was stolen. It has not yet been replaced, and it was never seen again.

Inception of the Welland Canal

The original sod-turning ceremony for the construction of the First Welland Canal took place in the area on November 30 1824. Today, a cairn at the west approach to the lift bridge commemorates the event.

"Windoc" incident

At approximately 9 on August 11 2001, the lift bridge collided with the bulk carrier "Windoc". The ship's wheelhouse and funnel were ripped off in the collision, starting a fire on board. Uncontrollable, the vessel drifted downstream and grounded approximately 800 metres from the bridge. Fire fighting units from throughout Niagara Region were involved in the efforts to put out the fire, parking the fire trucks on the canal's banks. The falling dusk made the fire dramatic, and the video footage was later shown on many newscasts.

There was no loss of life, as the crew was able to escape the wheelhouse before its destruction. The Canal reopened to shipping two days later, but the bridge remained locked in a raised position while engineers studied and repaired the structure. Road traffic through central Niagara was left in considerable chaos, as the number of canal crossings is limited. Detours were set up to travel through the Thorold Tunnel north of Allanburg. Eventually, the damage to the bridge was found to be minor and repaired. "Windoc" has sat in the port of Montreal ever since, inoperable and its bilges flooded.Later, an investigation found that the tired bridge operator lowered the bridge before the ship had cleared the span.

External links

* [http://www.bst.gc.ca/en/reports/marine/2001/m01c0054/m01c0054.asp The Transportation Safety Board of Canada's report on the "Windoc" collision]
* [http://www.welland.library.on.ca/digital/clipping/allan.htm Welland Public Library's collision newspaper clippings]