Welland By-Pass west and by the by-pass channel to the east. Welland By-Pass The Welland By-pass, completed in 1973, was a massive construction project on the Welland Canal in Ontario, Canada. A new channel long was constructed, providing a shorter, more direct alignment between Port Robinson and Port Colborne and by-passing downtown Welland. The project helped improve navigation along the canal and alleviated problems the presence of a busy ship canal was causing in Welland. Although the city of Welland had originally grown around the canal, by the 1960s the constant interruptions in the flow of the vehicular and rail traffic through
Welland Canal, bridge 13 years. Ships failing to negotiate the curve, on at least a couple of occasions, collided with the western approach span. The Welland Public Library holds a file of newspaper clippings regarding such collisions, including one where the ship Atomena collided with the bridge in 1970. The route through Welland which had crossed Main Street since the 1830s was winding and difficult. The large number of bridges, and especially a railroad swing bridge (Welland Canal, Bridge 15) made the route difficult and dangerous. In 1967, it was decided to re-route the canal to the east of the city via the Welland