Traversing The River

Traversing The River. . , Throughout history, crossing the St. Clair River has always been challenging because of the swiftness of the current., In 1859, the Grand Trunk Railroad implemented a method of bringing rail cars across the river between Point Edward and Fort Gratiot by attaching a barge to a steel cable anchored in the river. The barge swung from one side of the river to the other side using the current. The barge became known as the swing ferry. In 1872, the swing ferry was replaced by the steam ferry, the International II., Passenger ferries carried travelers across the river. In 1875, the first private ferry service was started and became the Port Huron and Sarnia Ferry Company. The company was very successful until challenged by the opening of the first span of the Blue Water International Bridge in 1938 (seen above)., A second span of the Blue Water International Bridge was completed in 1997. Today the twin spans carry over 5,000,000 vehicles per year., Just three miles south of here, there are two rail tunnels under the river. The first rail tunnel was completed in 1891. It was an engineering marvel for its time. A second, larger tunnel was completed in 1994, replacing the original tunnel.