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Dufferin Street railway bridge repairs/closure (City of Toronto, near CNE)
- Thread starter W. K. Lis
- Start date
BurlOak
Senior Member
Is this bridge only over the rail tracks or does it go over the Gardiner as well. It appears to be only 30m long. They could have this replaced in less than a year if they avoided all the EA stuff*. It sound like they already have some type of plan for what they want to build - is there any info on whether any changes to the current alignment are planned.
* The 580m long I-35 bridge in Minnesota was replaced in 12 months.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
They're two different bridges, each built differently. One of them cannot handle heavy loads very well, but don't remember which one.
This is a picture of the bridge over the expressway.
The old Dufferin Gates were demolished to make way for the expressway.
androiduk
Senior Member
New Bridge; Dufferin Street @ Exhibition Place
By: Paul Moloney City Hall Bureau reporter, Published on Fri May 31 2013
The crumbling Dufferin St. bridge over the rail corridor north of Exhibition Place will close to cars and trucks June 12 for up to 18 months, officials announced Friday.
The bridge carries 18,000 vehicles a day, whose drivers will now have to find another route.
Signs announcing the closure go up next week near the 102-year-old bridge, which the city had hoped could remain in service until after the 2015 Pan Am Games, which will be using Exhibition Place.
However, a routine inspection noted problems and outside engineers were brought in who recommended closing it, said Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park).
Pedestrians and cyclists will be allowed to keep using the bridge. Engineers are working on temporary measures to reinstate vehicular traffic within 18 months.
Work on the new $17 million replacement bridge is expected to begin in 2016. It’s unknown how long the project might take.
By: Paul Moloney City Hall Bureau reporter, Published on Fri May 31 2013
The crumbling Dufferin St. bridge over the rail corridor north of Exhibition Place will close to cars and trucks June 12 for up to 18 months, officials announced Friday.
The bridge carries 18,000 vehicles a day, whose drivers will now have to find another route.
Signs announcing the closure go up next week near the 102-year-old bridge, which the city had hoped could remain in service until after the 2015 Pan Am Games, which will be using Exhibition Place.
However, a routine inspection noted problems and outside engineers were brought in who recommended closing it, said Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14, Parkdale-High Park).
Pedestrians and cyclists will be allowed to keep using the bridge. Engineers are working on temporary measures to reinstate vehicular traffic within 18 months.
Work on the new $17 million replacement bridge is expected to begin in 2016. It’s unknown how long the project might take.
drum118
Superstar
There goes TTC Dufferin 29D bus unless its allow access to the bridge.
Kitsune
Senior Member
how does it work that it'll be closed for 12 to 18 months, only to be replaced in 2016? Why not try and find a way to do the work earlier..
W. K. Lis
Superstar
drum118
Superstar
With the closing of the bridges, what will happen to Dufferin 29D bus?? It maybe reroute and if so how? Will it be allow to use the bridge during the closure?? It maybe cancel and something TTC has look at doing for some time with strong opposition.
There is an EA that calls for replacing both bridges with a single span regardless the age of the original that has been class historical. It is also part of the EA for the Lake Shore makeover.
The new bridge would connect the Dufferin Streetcar tracks to the CNE (509) line and be part of the Western Waterfront Line with a new loop west of Dufferin St.
By building this single span bridge, it allows for the Lakeshore line tracks to be upgraded from 4 to 7, as well what every happens to the Gardiner.
There is an EA that calls for replacing both bridges with a single span regardless the age of the original that has been class historical. It is also part of the EA for the Lake Shore makeover.
The new bridge would connect the Dufferin Streetcar tracks to the CNE (509) line and be part of the Western Waterfront Line with a new loop west of Dufferin St.
By building this single span bridge, it allows for the Lakeshore line tracks to be upgraded from 4 to 7, as well what every happens to the Gardiner.
drum118
Superstar
It shows how backward we are if we can't replace both bridges in one year. The EA is approve for the the replacing of the existing bridges and time to do it now and advance the funding for it now than 2016. Why waste good money for a short life cycle????
Sure there a hwy and rail corridor there now, but you can close them from midnight to 5 am to get the protection in place for the tear down. In fact, the Dufferin can be lift out as one piece in one night, but will have to be broken down before being remove off site. The Gardiner bridge is another issue and will take longer.
BurlOak
Senior Member
I kind of suspected that the two bridges might be combined into one longer bridge. I suppose that berm that separates the tracks from the Gardiner would be removed. The bridge over the railway must be the deficient one. The one over the Gardiner is only 50 years old, and it is a concrete rigid frame - perhaps the most robust type of bridge that we have.
The Star article said that "Engineers are working on temporary measures to reinstate vehicular traffic within 18 months." I would not expect it to take 18 months to design some type emergency repairs so keep this open for 3 years. Even a Bailey Bridge (or a modern equivalent - Acrow, Mabey), could be installed pretty quickly if the will exists - the span is actually quite small. Perhaps they intend to rent the Bailey Bridge and the delay is to minimize the rental costs. I do see that getting a new single bridge to replace both exisiting bridges could not be put in place by 2015.
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nfitz
Superstar
I'd assume they'll just cancel it and run the entire service as 29 for 18 months - which they frequently do with anything going on at the Ex. Might even help service a bit, with less traffic on Dufferin.
Tuscani01
Senior Member
I left CityPlace after a year of construction screwing with my commute, and ended up on Dufferin with easy access to the Gardiner, and the construction follows me out to Dufferin now. I can never win.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
Even abandoned roads will deteriorate over time. That new smooth road will need to be maintained, due to traffic use, weather, or just age.
BurlOak
Senior Member
I saw a bit more info about this.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1175961/dufferin-street-bridge-over-rail-corridor-to-be-closed
It sounds like they were already planning a detour bridge(s) adjacent to this one - which would carry vehicles during reconstruction of the main 2 bridges.
If they can go 18 months with this bridge closed, as was mentioned in the Star - maybe they could re-consider and close the bridge to all traffic (including pedestrain) and fast tracking the construction and getting it done before the PanAm Games. It would be cheaper than building a temporary bridge and then building the new permanent bridge to replace the 2.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1175961/dufferin-street-bridge-over-rail-corridor-to-be-closed
It sounds like they were already planning a detour bridge(s) adjacent to this one - which would carry vehicles during reconstruction of the main 2 bridges.
If they can go 18 months with this bridge closed, as was mentioned in the Star - maybe they could re-consider and close the bridge to all traffic (including pedestrain) and fast tracking the construction and getting it done before the PanAm Games. It would be cheaper than building a temporary bridge and then building the new permanent bridge to replace the 2.
W. K. Lis
Superstar
I think the normal procedure would have been to build the temporary bridge while the original bridges is still open. Then while the temporary bridge is in use, they can tear down the two old bridges and build the new permanent replacement.
With the condition of the old bridge over the railway being in bad condition, they can't go that path. They can, however, still use the old bridges for pedestrians and bicycles to access Exhibition Place. They don't want to go the way of what happened in Montréal.
With the condition of the old bridge over the railway being in bad condition, they can't go that path. They can, however, still use the old bridges for pedestrians and bicycles to access Exhibition Place. They don't want to go the way of what happened in Montréal.