News   Jul 12, 2024
 1.6K     0 
News   Jul 12, 2024
 1.2K     1 
News   Jul 12, 2024
 460     0 

Roads: Bathurst Street Bridge

Those shots are amazing. I'd love to be able to hear the sounds in those photos. Was the bridge modified between 1916 and 17? Looks like they had added some stronger bracing.
 
Yeah, definitely looks "modified", if not altogether new. (Is there some kind of dating mythology to be debunked here?)
 
The bridge in the first picture is definitely not the same as the bridge in the others. The others have an arch to them and dirt approaches on the south side. In the time between April 5, 1916 and July 16, 1917 they must have replaced the bridge and the southern approach or the dates are incorrect.
 
Yep, the bridge in the first picture is the one that is there now, but was realigned later.

The bridge that was there now was, if I recall correctly, moved from another site on Lakeshore Boulevard.
 
I read somewhere, Mike Filey perhaps, that when they realigned the Bathurst bridge they chained it to a locomotive on the tracks below and pulled it to realign it. I cannot even begin to imagine the response if something like that was proposed today.
 
Looks pretty gloomy.

That is why the main entrance to the CNE was the Dufferin Gates at that time. The eastern section underwent an improvement after 1914.

Eastern Entrance in 1908:
fo1244%5Cf1244_it2018.jpg


Dufferin Gates in 1914:
fo1244%5Cf1244_it0779.jpg


Plan in 1914:
fo1231%5Cf1231_it0064.jpg
 
Last edited:
Does anyone know what's happening with this? I thought that initial designs were received or reviewed more than a year ago and sent back to the drafting board for some touching up.

Personally, I hope that the new bridge design is very minimalistic and leaves the heritage trusses as the focal point. I'd also be quite happy to see those steel girders go that block the view of Fort York when driving over the bridge. It would be great to give it more visibility.
 
Work is supposed to start this month after the EX is over, but things keep changing.
 
Originally it was supposed to start in 2008 right after the Ex.

Maybe 2010 due to budget issues.

TTC has wanted to rebuild the tracks for years as they are in real rough shape and was schedule in 2007 to be done.
 
According to Adam Vaughn's website the project has been postponed from 2009 to "at least 2010" and he says:
Bathurst Street Bridge Construction Schedule
The City of Toronto and TTC are jointly planning a major construction project on the
Bathurst Street Bridge, south of Front Street to Fleet Street. This project will involve a
total reconstruction of the bridge between Front and Fleet, widening the area to create a TTC right-of-way. The truss bridge, which has heritage status, will be preserved as part of this work.
As part of the design process, the bridge design was assessed by the City of Toronto’s
Design Review Panel in June 2008. They identified a number of issues around the
bridge design. There is currently a team composed of the TTC and city staff from Urban
Design and Structures and Expressways, who are reviewing the design and other issues
around the bridge.
As a result, the start date for this work has been pushed back, and is not planned to
begin before 2010. The construction was estimated by Transportation staff to take about 4 months, however this estimate is subject to change.
During the construction, the bridge will be closed to vehicular and streetcar traffic, but
pedestrian traffic would be maintained with a 2m sidewalk. Bikes could also access this
route but would be required to dismount.

Should be fun when the bridge is closed!
 
Not to take over this thread, but on a related matter: What happened to the Portland bridge? Didn't Vaughan promise that the public would soon be seeing a "non-truss" design for this pedestrian bridge?
 

Back
Top