Welland Canal Welland Canal The Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, Canada, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway. Traversing the Niagara Peninsula from Port Weller to Port Colborne, it enables ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment and bypass Niagara Falls. The canal carries about 3,000 ships which carry about 40,000,000 tons of cargo a year. It was a major factor in the growth of the city of Toronto, Ontario. The original canal and its successors allowed goods from Great Lakes ports such as Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago, as
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