Niagara County: No tolls at area bridges on Christmas holiday

Lewiston-Queenston, Rainbow and Whirlpool bridge crossings to offer travel free of charge

The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) announced it would not charge tolls in celebration of the Christmas holiday.

The toll-free period will be in effect for 24 hours, beginning at 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, Monday, Dec. 24, and ending at 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Day, Tuesday, Dec. 25, for the Lewiston-Queenston, Rainbow and Whirlpool bridge crossings.

“We are pleased to waive the toll for travelers for this 24-hour period as a gesture of our gratitude to the community,” said Ken Bieger, general manager of the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission. “We’re also happy to do so in appreciation to our employees for another year of hard work. We hope that the period of free passage over our bridges will permit more commission families to celebrate the holiday together. The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission and its partners are looking forward to a wonderful 2019.”

About the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission

The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission is a unique, binational body. Canada and the U.S. are equally represented on the NFBC through the binational appointment of an eight-member board of commissioners. A Joint Resolution of the 1938 U.S. Congressional Third Session created the framework for the NFBC. In 1939, the Province of Ontario, Canada, licensed the NFBC under The Extra Provincial Corporations Act and amended the Highway Improvement Act to authorize the appropriation of land in Ontario for transfer to the NFBC. Initially established to finance, construct and operate the Rainbow Bridge, the commission proved efficient and effective at its mission.

The NFBC’s powers and authority were thereafter expanded through amendments to the Joint Resolution in the U.S., and by the Rainbow Bridge Amendment Act of 1959 and the Queenston Bridge Act of 1959 in Canada. Together, these enactments empowered the NFBC to assume responsibilities for the Whirlpool Rapids (Lower) and Lewiston-Queenston bridges.

Today, in addition to owning and operating three international bridges, the NFBC builds and maintains facilities for customs and immigration functions on both sides of the international border. The NFBC is self-supportive, largely through user fees (tolls) and private-sector tenant leases. NFBC is authorized to conduct international commercial financial transactions and empowered to issue tax-exempt bonds in the U.S.