State officials will hold a public hearing this Wednesday at the Niagara Falls Convention Center to discuss options for replacing two 115-year-old stone bridges that provide pedestrian access to Goat Island for millions of tourists every year.
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While Niagara Falls can feel a little overrated, this ambitious project would give us even more to see – and a rare sight it will be. About 85 percent of the Niagara River flows over Horseshoe Falls in Ontario, and 15 percent flows over the American Falls in NY.
The falls were “turned off” in 1969 when workers used a cofferdam to divert water from the American side to the Canadian so they could study the effects of erosion, the Niagra Falls Review reports. The island sees millions of visitors each year.
Some birds might be temporarily dislocated, Parks officials warned according to the Buffalo News.
It would not be the first time that water at the falls has been shut off, WGRZ.com reported. Since their construction in 1900, the structures have deteriorated significantly; they were closed in 2004, when park authorities ordered the construction two temporary bridges above the ailing concrete overpasses.
Yet officials acknowledge that turning off the water could be a controversial step.
Niagara Falls, a distinct collective of three waterfalls that straddle the border of the US and Canada, will go dry in the next two or three years. One would be to turn off the flow for five months before the tourism season starts in the summer.
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Randy Simons, a spokesman for the Niagara Falls State Park, said the process was still in the very early stages.
