Burlington Canal Lift Bridge

1962 vertical-lift bridge over the canal between Lake Ontario and Hamilton Harbour

The Burlington Canal Lift Bridge crosses the narrow canal that connects Lake Ontario to Hamilton Harbour, at the southern end of Burlington Beach. It is a vertical-lift bridge — the centre span rises straight up between two towers to clear passing lake freighters — and the lift is one of the genuine small spectacles of the area, sitting on the bridge or the canal-side path to watch a thousand-foot ore carrier slide past.

The structure dates from 1962 and replaced a turn-of-the-century swing bridge. The walking and cycling path along the canal connects the bridge to Beachway Park to the north and the Hamilton waterfront trail to the south. Free to cross; check the canal schedule online if you want to time a visit to a lift.

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The bridge replaces a swing bridge that opened in 1898, in turn replacing the original 1839 wooden swing bridge — there has been some sort of crossing on this spot for as long as the canal has existed. The current vertical-lift design takes about 70 seconds to raise the deck the 33 metres needed to clear lake freighters; the bridge lifts roughly 8,000 times a year for traffic in and out of Hamilton Harbour.

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