Published: February 01, 2009 09:40 pm      

HIGGS: Talkin' about the Bridge Commission

At the recent annual meeting of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, I was elected as the chairperson for 2009. This responsibility is not new to me as I served in this capacity several times during my former service to this commission from November 1976 to January 1996. However, times have changed and new challenges await the commission and I thought I would take some of my Monday morning space now and then to inform the community on our progress as we update our infrastructure and concentrate on providing better service to our customers: The commercial and private passenger traveling public.

The commission was formed in 1938 as a direct result of the collapse of the Honeymoon Bridge on Jan. 27, of that year. It is also interesting to note that in 1938 there was a Great Depression and a brewing war overseas. The commission is a bi-national entity created by the U.S. Congress to construct, operate and acquire bridges across the Niagara River at or near the cities of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Niagara Falls, Ont. The Commission is also licensed by the Extra Provincial Corporations Act of the Province of Ontario. As a result of this legislation and over the course of several years, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission currently owns and operates the three individual bridges across the Niagara River: The Rainbow Bridge, the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge and the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge.

There are eight members of the commission; four from each border country. The governor of New York appoints the U.S. members and the premier of the Province of Ontario appoints the Canadian counterparts.

Our new general manager, Lew Holloway, bears the responsibility of overseeing the day-to-day operations and the long-range reconstructions plans as well. He has been provided a staff of competent employees along with outside experts such as professional legal counsel, financial advisers and auditors and engineers well versed in our particular needs.

One of our primary obligations is to determine long-term traffic volume projections and review traffic flow with regard to our current infrastructure capacity. Another is to maintain our physical structures to provide the utmost in safety standards and to determine toll revenue levels required to maintain our operations and capital cost repayment. All of this is eventually transferred into construction and management plans as well as meeting the day-to-day challenges common to any operation of this caliber.

Since our main objective is to move traffic, numbers are important to analyze measurable needs of the future. Recent statistics (2008) show that 3,680,426 vehicles utilized the bridges and that 406,195 trucks were included in these numbers.

Commission revenue is directly related to traffic volume as it is primarily derived from bridge tolls, rental income and earnings on investments. Rental income sources are generated from the spaces provided for the duty-free retail establishments and the reimbursement from the U.S. General Service Administration for space provided to the U.S. Customs and Border control facilities. A provision allowing the commission to issue tax-exempt bonds to finance capital improvements was added in 1991.

Some past projects undertaken by the commission include new inspection facilities, offices and increased vehicle-processing capacity on both sides of the Rainbow Bridge. This project and the addition of NEXUS acceptance on both plazas at this location and other repairs were completed during the mid-90s. An extensive bridge painting project began in 2007 and is still under way at the Whirlpool Rapids crossing. At the Lewiston Plaza, a widening project in 2000 has improved commercial staging and toll booth upgrades were completed in 2007.

The Canadian Federal Government and the Province of Ontario provided funding for the expansion of the 405 eastbound lane leading to the Queenston Plaza in 2004 and authorization was given to the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission to take charge of the actual construction process which was completed on time and under budget. Another partnership with these two government bodies in 2005 saw the installation of the fifth lane on the Lewiston–Queenston Bridge. The bridge itself was redecked to accommodate five lanes of traffic by removing a slightly used passenger walkway and a retrofit of the structure through engineering design. Reversible traffic through signage was also installed at this time.

All of the above projects were completed at a total cost of $160.3 million, with $18 million provided by the Canadian Federal government, $22.3 million by the Province of Ontario and almost $120 million by the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. Future columns will dwell on the current reconstruction of the Queenston Plaza to meet the demands of today’s commercial and private passenger traffic.

History points out the commission has provided continuous updating of its owned facilities and cautious stewardship of its responsibilities. Continuing changes in traffic numbers and patterns need constant review to be certain we meet our obligations under our enabling legislation but also have the means to ensure our financial stability. Our dedicated Board of Commissioners has set policies in place to provide that direction.

Norma Higgs serves with the Niagara Beautification Commission and Niagara Falls Block Club Council. Her columns appear Mondays in the Gazette.