Dry Niagara Falls to Greet Tourists While Bridges Replaced

Niagara Falls may be turned off on the American side in the next two or three years to replace a couple of stone arch bridges that are 115 years old.

The New York State parks system wants to replace bridges that give pedestrians and vehicles access to Goat Island, along with providing utility access, said the Buffalo News.

The falls on the United States side were shut down in 1969 to study the effects of erosion and the increase of rock at its base, said the News, and Michelle Kratts, Niagara Falls city historian, said the shutoff attracted people from all over the world.

"It's the nature of curiosity," said Kratts. "You want to see what's underneath, to see its skeleton."

Canada's Horseshoe Falls handles 80 percent of the Niagara River flow currently and it could take all of the flow when the smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls are dry, said Discovery.com.

Under one plan, the American and Bridal Veil Falls would be stopped from August through December, said The Associated Press. The second plan would stop the falls for nine-month dry spell, from April through December.

A cofferdam would be built at the tip of Goat Island to the mainland, cutting off flow in the river bed. That would allow a dry enough area for the replacement of the two bridges that crosses the river leading to the falls.

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