Bridge in Bloom Landscaping Campaign Continues

July 12, 2012

BUFFALO, NY/FORT ERIE, ON – Today the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority (Peace Bridge Authority) officially marked its 12th annual Bridge in Bloom summer landscaping and beautification campaign. First initiated in 2001, the Bridge in Bloom initiative offers international travelers a vibrant and colorful welcome to both Canada and the United States.

Overall landscaping efforts include several thousand flowers, shrubs, and vegetation, as well as associated mulch, topsoil, and fertilizer spread throughout the bridge structure and surrounding facilities.

"Spring and summer are very busy seasons at the Peace Bridge and that is why we take such great pride in the Authority's landscaping and planting efforts on both sides of the border," said PBA Chairman Sam Hoyt. "The Bridge in Bloom campaign really makes a noticeable difference in the appearance of our facilities this time of year."

As part of the Bridge in Bloom campaign, the Authority concentrates plantings in several specific locations throughout the bridge structure, as well as along Busti Avenue and Front Park in the City of Buffalo, NY, and Queen Street and Veteran's Way near the Mather Arch in the Town of Fort Erie, ON.

Following completion of a formal procurement process, The Mill Greenhouses & Garden Center of Port Colborne, ON, and Amos Zittel & Sons Nursery of Eden, NY, were selected to furnish a wide variety of flower and plant species for the Authority's landscaping plan. Such species include Alyssum, Begonias, Bidens, Cordyline, Geraniums, King Coleus, Marigolds, Million Belles, Potato Vine, Salvia, Sunflowers, Tapiens, Trailing Verbena, Tulips, Wave Petunias, amongst many others.

The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, a binational bridge authority, has owned and operated the Peace Bridge since 1933. The bridge, which was opened to traffic in 1927, spans the Niagara River between Fort Erie, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York, and is a key international border crossing.

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