La Salle Causeway, Transport bridge in Kingston, Canada

The La Salle Causeway carries Highway 2 across the Cataraqui River in Kingston, Ontario, separating the inner and outer harbours. Three bridges are built into it: the central span is a Strauss trunnion bascule lift bridge designed by Joseph Strauss, while the east and west end bridges were replaced with concrete structures in 1962 and 1993. About 23,000 vehicles use it daily.

Completed in 1917, the causeway replaced the original wooden Penny Bridge from 1829. The central bascule mechanism was designed by Joseph Strauss, the engineer who later created the Golden Gate Bridge.

The causeway takes its name from René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle, who established Fort Frontenac in 1673 at what is now the western end of this crossing. This historical connection remains embedded in the structure's identity, even as the original fort has faded from the landscape.

The lift bridge was closed on 30 March 2024 after a diagonal steel truss supporting its counterweight was damaged during strengthening work. Public Services and Procurement Canada then announced demolition and a replacement movable bridge. A temporary modular bridge opened to traffic and pedestrians on 3 October 2024. About 23,000 vehicles use the crossing daily.

The lift bridge's Strauss trunnion bascule mechanism was designed by Joseph Strauss, the engineer behind the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. A diagonal steel truss element supporting its counterweight was damaged on March 30, 2024, during strengthening work, and the bridge was later demolished and replaced by a temporary modular bridge opened on October 3, 2024.