Welland Canal Port Maitland. With the opening of the extension, the canal stretched between the two lakes, with 40 wooden locks. The minimum lock size was , with a minimum canal depth of . Deterioration of the wood used in the 40 locks and the increasing size of ships led to demand for the Second Welland Canal, which used cut stone locks, within just a few years. In 1839 the government of Upper Canada approved the purchase of shares in the private canal company in response to the company's continuing financial problems in the face of the continental financial panic of 1837.
Welland Canal, Bridge 15 keep trespassers off. Bridge 15 is visually similar to the Montrose Swing Bridge located on the Welland River approximately 15 km away; however, that bridge is a Warren Truss, as opposed to the rarer Baltimore Truss of Bridge 15. The two bridges were constructed at approximately the same time. The Niagara, St. Catharines and Toronto Railway Swing Bridge over the canal (Bridge 8) at Thorold, Ontario was also constructed at approximately the same time. That bridge, built for interurbans and light electric freight locomotives, was a lighter construction and only carried a single track. Bridge 8 no longer exists. Bridge