The Burgoyne Bridge (also known as the St. Paul Street Bridge) connects St. Paul Street over 12 Mile Creek and Highway 406. The Burgoyne Bridge officially opened for all traffic in December 1915, but had been operational for pedestrian foot traffic to travel across a few weeks prior. In the 1870s there were frequent requests to build a bridge over the canal to help improve access to the railway station, which was located on the southwest side of 12 Mile Creek. As a result, two major bridges were created- the Glen Ridge (now Glenridge) Bridge and Burgoyne Bridge. The bridge is named after William B. Burgoyne, a mayor, councillor, editor of the St. Catharines Standard and advocate for better transportation cross 12 Mile Creek. Burgoyne noticed that the most popular way to get to the train station was to travel down a very steep hill to reach a smaller, unstable bridge. This trek was dangerous enough during the summer months, but when the weather turned icy this route was extremely treacherous. Not only did the bridge allow better access across the Creek, it also allowed for the development of homes in the south end of the city. A bridge at the current location of the Burgoyne Bridge was consistently delayed due to various issues (political, alternative ideas, etc.) but once it was eventually built, its importance was quickly noted. Over time the Burgoyne Bridge has gone through maintenance as would be expected with a structure of this size and importance. Since 1915 the bridge has been repainted, resurfaced and repaired multiple times. Between 2014-2017 the Burgoyne Bridge was under construction to add landmark- like qualities to the pre-existing structure and to add strength to the bridge. The renovated Burgoyne Bridge won the 2017 CIS/ICCA award for "Best Steel Bridge Design".
References
Jackson, J. N., & Wilson, S. M. (1992). St. Catharines : Canada's canal city. St. Catharines, Ont. : St. Catharines Standard, 1992.
Niagara Green Belt (2012). Burgoyne bridge. Retrieved from http://www.niagaragreenbelt.com/listings/16-bridges/470-burgoyne- bridge.html
St. Catharines Public Library, (n.d.). The Burgoyne bridge: the final years of the Burgoyne bridge. Retrieved from http://bmd.stcatharines.library.on.ca/en/433/Exhibit/5
Municipality: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Local area name: Burgoyne Bridge
Other identifying names or descriptions: St. Paul Street Bridge, Big White Bridge
Latitude and longitude: 49.09.09N 79.14.49 W
Physical Dimensions
Length: 395m (1,296ft)
Width: 10m (34ft)
Surface Area:
Elevation: 25m (82ft)
Highest / lowest point
The Burgoyne Bridge is an area located in the Niagara Region in Southern Ontario, specifically within the St. Catharines municipality. The bridge is located on St. Paul Street West/Regional Road 81 and is primarily used to travel safely over the 12 Mile Creek. The completion of the bridge in 1915 allowed for easier access to the west St. Catharines Business District as well as increase the property development south of the city. The Burgoyne Bridge was originally built out of steel to differentiate itself from the stone Glen Ridge Bridge located nearby.
Images courtesy of Brown, Middleton & Vaughan, (2010)
Map 1: Burgoyne Bridge
It can be presumed, as is common with many bridges, many species of bird and small mammal live within the spans of the bridge. These include owls, and other small birds. As is expected with urbanization, there are often radical changes to the natural wildlife in the changing areas (Hough, 2004, p. 133). Since the Burgoyne Bridge was built in 1915, there have been lots of developments and as a result many species, both animal and plant, have become more at risk. During the recent 2014 renovations many animals were disturbed from their local habitats.
Some at risk species in the region include (12 Mile Creek 2012 Watershed Report card, 2012):
-Birds: Barn Owl & Yellow-breasted Chat
-Fish: American Eel & Redside Dace
Mammals: Grey Fox
Plants: Butternut & Eastern Flowering Dogwood
Reptiles: Eastern Milksnake
The soil which the Burgoyne Bridge is built on and around the 12 Mile Creek is broken down as follows, 0.5% upland escarpment, 34% developed areas, 26% mixed clay and loam, 4.5% mixed sand and loam, 30% mixed silt and loam, 0.1% organic soils, and 4.5% water (12 Mile Creek 2012 Watershed Report card, 2012). This mixture of soil ended up causing delays during the renovations due to the unpredictability of the soil mixture. This report was issue in 2012, so since then there have been slight alterations to the soil composition.
The most important body of water close to the Burgoyne Bridge is the 12 Mile Creek. The 12 Mile Creek is approximately 19km in length and is important historically to the city of St. Catharines. Due to the Creek being altered due to human involvement, specifically changing the natural flow in order to accommodate for city development, the hydrologic cycle and water flow is impeded (Alberti, 2008, p. 134). The 12 Mile creek delivers water between Lake Ontario and the city, so by altering the water flow both humans and wildlife are effected. The natural erosion over time has also helped reduce size of the the 12 Mile Creek.
The following images show how the 12 Mile Creek flow pattern has been altered throughout the years.
St. Catharines has a unique microclimate as a result of being located in between Lake Erie, Lake Ontario and the sheltering effects of the Niagara Escarpment (About Our City, n.d.). As the Burgoyne Bridge is located in downtown, the urbanized areas effect the climate differently than close rural areas (Hough, 2004, p. 190). Due to the urbanization, there are multiple factors which result in these microclimate changes. One aspect to consider is the type of materials in the area- materials such as stone, pavement and concrete store and conduct heat much faster than the soil dominated surfaces of rural landscapes (p. 190). Windows and roofs of the nearby storefronts can act as reflectors and absorb/reflect heat back to the other surfaces, essentially heating the entire city (p. 190). Air quality is a second human-induced change which has altered the local microclimate. Due to the growing population and increase of car pollution, 'increased atmospheric carbon dioxide will lead to increased air temperatures" (p. 191). As a result of taller buildings being built, that effects the natural wind flow throughout the city, making small alterations to the microclimate.
Land use history:
The need for a bridge over the 12 Mile Creek goes as far back as 1853, the year the Great Western Railway was built in St. Catharines (Jackson & Wilson, 1992, p. 218). People were not able to safely travel across the 12 Mile Creek into without having to cross extremely dangerous slopes in order to reach a low hanging, rickety bridge. William B. Burgoyne
The Burgoyne Bridge was under delay for many years due to political issues such as cost, alternative methods, general construction issues, who should pay for the bridge, and the actual exact location of the bridge. Where the bridge was ultimately built, multiple important buildings had to be torn down. These include a stately private residence, a hospital, and a nurse training school (GreenBelt, 2012).
Education / Interpretation:
While there are no physical exhibits dedicated to the Burgoyne Bridge, the St. Catharines library has lots of information on the history of the bridge and the downtown St. Catharines area, both online and at the public library. The 1992 Canadian textbook "St. Catharines: Canada's Canal City" by John Jackson and Sheila Wilson has an entire chapter dedicated to the bridges in St. Catharines, including the Burgoyne Bridge.
In addition to those resources, at the northernmost part of the bridge there are black and white blown up photographs of the original bridge for observers to look at before the cross over.
Architectural Heritage:
Due to when the Burgoyne Bridge was originally built, it is expected for there to be multiple changes to the local landscapes. In addition to the multiple buildings built on both sides of the bridge, there has also been constant upkeep of the bridge itself. Since 1915 the bridge has had consistent resurfacing and repairs to ensure it stays safe for people to cross.
Timeline of Key Burgoyne Bridge Maintenance Dates (St. Catharines Public Library, n.d.)
One of the biggest differences between the original Burgoyne Bridge and the 2014 reconstruction is the large white arch in the middle of the bridge. The arch is primarily for visual appeal, as well as to hold the lighting for the bridge. When the Burgoyne Bridge was originally built in 1915 the middle area of the bridge was used for train tracks. As a result of the lack of railway travel in more modern times, when the bridge was renovated, the middle portion was hollowed out to accommodate the arch.
Due to tragic accidents, the city of St. Catharines recently has been putting up barriers on the sides of the Burgoyne Bridge to prevent jumpers.
An interesting thing to note is that over of the 7 spans which support the bridge, one of them is kept from the original structure.
Recreational Uses:
While there are no formal recreational events that occur on the bridge, it is not uncommon for people to walk across it to observe the 12 Mile Creek. Historically the bridge was used for people to safely walk from one side of 12 Mile Creek to the other, and that is still the main purpose today.
The Burgoyne Bridge is owned by the Regional Municipality of Niagara (CanAm Bridges, 2018) and area is open to the pubic. There were original plans to make the Burgoyne Bridge a tolled road, but there were never plans for restrict public assess. The only other way way to cross over the 12 Mile Creek is via a smaller bridge, but this bridge is not able to accommodate automobiles. It is expected that citizens travel over the Burgoyne Bridge. The bridge is maintained by the city for regular checkups and upkeep.
The Burgoyne Bridge is essential to the downtown St. Catharines core and has both influenced and been influenced by the local geography. Urban landscapes are complex due to the interactions of humans and environmental agents (Alberti, 2008, p. 93), and the Burgoyne Bridge is no exception. In more recent years, the development of the Meridian Centre (home of the Ontario Hockey League's Niagara Ice Dogs) has helped bring more people into the downtown core during nights which there are hockey games. As a result, more people need to be able to safely cross over the 12 Mile Creek, and the new Burgoyne Bridge has helped do that. South of the bridge is Rodman Hall, which is a local art gallery which is also used to house small meetings and conventions. In order to travel from the downtown area to the Hall, the Burgoyne Bridge is the most safe and popular option.
City of St. Catharines
PO Box 3012, 50 Church St.
St. Catharines ON L2R 7C2
Tel: 905.688.5600
Fax: 905.682.3631
Pomerleau Contracting- Toronto Office
185 The West Mall, Suite 1100
Etobicoke ON, M9C 5L5
Phone: (416) 207-0848
Fax: (416) 207-9636
Text and online sources (list the books, monographs, journals, and other written material you consulted in the preparation of this report)
Alberti, M. (2008). Advances in urban ecology: Integrating humans and ecological processes in urban ecology. Retrieved from University of Washington database.
Brown, D. T., Middleton, J., & Vaughan, K. S. (2010). The land between lakes: An overview of the Niagara region.
Canam Bridges (2018). Burgoyne Bridge. Retrieved from https://www.canambridges.com/projects/burgoyne-bridge/
Hough, M. (2004). Cities and Natural Process (Vol. 2nd ed). London: Routledge. Retrieved from https://proxy.library.brocku.ca/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=114942&site=eds-live&scope=site
Jackson, J. N., & Wilson, S. M. (1992). St. Catharines : Canada's canal city. St. Catharines, Ont. : St. Catharines Standard, 1992.
Niagara Green Belt (2012). Burgoyne bridge. Retrieved from http://www.niagaragreenbelt.com/listings/16-bridges/470-burgoyne- bridge.html
Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (2012). Twelve Mile Creek 2012 Watershed Report Card. Retrieved from https://npca.ca/sites/default/files/TwelveMileCreek_WatershedReportCard.pdf
St. Catharines Public Library, (n.d.). The Burgoyne bridge: the final years of the Burgoyne bridge. Retrieved from http://bmd.stcatharines.library.on.ca/en/433/Exhibit/5 St. Catharines (n.d.) About our city. Retrieved from https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/AboutOurCity.asp?_mid_=26335
This Local Landscape Report was prepared by Adam Pappas for the Brock University course GEOG 2P94: Human Dominated Ecosystems on November 18, 2018.
All copyrights for cited material rest with the original copyright owners.
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