First Welland Canal points on the Lake Erie shore, and also offered a natural harbour for the ships waiting to enter the canal. The new part of the canal was to run in a fairly straight line, except for a stretch where it followed a local ravine and a creek to minimise required excavation of hard rock in the area. The Welland Canal Company obtained a loan of 50,000 pounds from the Province of Upper Canada. Construction started soon after, but it was delayed by rain, difficulty in clearing land, and a cholera outbreak in 1832. Neither the Wainfleet Marsh nor the rock
Welland Canal, bridge 13 Street in 1903. This Bridge is well documented at the Welland Public Library Local History Site. In 1927, this bridge was moved one block south to Division Street to make room for construction of the current Bridge 13. While the previous three canals were each at slightly different locations, the width of the greatly expanded fourth canal encompassed all of them. Fourth canal construction started as early as 1913. There were delays as a result of World War I, and this massive project was not completed until 1932. Bridge 13 was constructed between 1927 and 1930, with steel work of