Niagara Falls

Since the evolution of the railroad system to Buffalo, New York during the early 1800's, millions of visitors from around the world have traveled to view one of the worlds most spectacular, scenic attractions, Niagara Falls.

Though beautiful to look at, the falls produce a constant by product, mist! While the mist comforts the traveler on a hot summer day, it is at the same time silently destroying the steel and wood structures that surround the falls.

One of the structures was the observation deck on the New York side of the falls. After many years of costly maintenance to scrape and paint the steel tower, the stairways leading to the river below, and the handrail, the steel structure became too rusted and needed replaced.

The New York Authorities needed to make a decision to choose an alternative building material that would offer greater characteristics than the steel used previously. With the superior corrosion resistant properties, lightweight, strength, and less maintenance cost, the choice was simple. They specified that the handrail that surrounds the deck in its entirety as well as the staircases, landings, and handrails leading to the bottom of the falls were to be Fiberglass Reinforced Pultruded Composite material.

Bedford Reinforced Plastics, Inc. worked closely with its fabricator to supply a complete system that was custom designed to meet all applicable codes in the state of New York. The custom designed handrail totaled more than 1,000 linear feet in length, while various beams, channels, and angles made up the 14 flights of stairs and landings that supported the fabricators FRP Grating leading to the bottom of the 185' depth below.

The Pultruded structural members were produced utilizing a premium grade isophthalic polyester resin, while E-glass mat and roving served as the reinforcements. The exterior surfaces employed a double layer of veil to assist in the weathering characteristics of the profiles. In addition, all of the profiles were produced to a custom green pigment that was specified by the authorities to insure the aesthetics of the project blended in to the natural landscape of the park.

The project proved to be a success offering the only practical, cost effective solution over traditional building materials.