Welland By-Pass 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 the city became bothersome. A single ship would hold
Welland Canal, Bridge 15 impact from a ship. The swing bridge sitting right in the middle of the channel was severe hazard. Anecdotes from some sailors who travelled through this bridge indicate that there was a bell located on the bridge which would ring whenever a ship made contact. This would warn the crew to check for damage. After the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, large ocean-going vessels were frequent visitors to the Welland Canal. Many of these ships are far better suited to the open ocean than to the narrow confines of the canal. The hazard created by this bridge,