User:Alaney2k/Bridges of the East Don Valley

Bridges of the Don Valley

Don Valley
· Lower Don Valley
· East Don Valley
· West Don Valley
Part of the series on the
Don Valley
Toronto bridges ·

The East Don Valley is a branch of the Don River valley of Toronto, Ontario. It flows from north to south, meeting the West Don branch of the Don near Don Mills Road and the Don Valley Parkway. The floodplains of the East Don are conserved, with no development permitted. The floodplains, while lumbered, have been allowed to regenerate and are now mostly in a forested state.

The bridges of the Don River can be classed into three separate classes:

• railway bridges (serving the Canadian National Railway (CNR) and Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR)
• roadway bridges
• pedestrian bridges

Railways entered the Don River valley starting in the 1870s. The CPR entered the valley in the 1880s.

The bridges of the East Don Valley are listed from south to north. Bridges of the East Don are located in Toronto and Vaughan.

East Don

North-east of the Leaside bridge, the Don River forks into east and west forks and Massey Creek. The East Don fork continues in a north-easterly direction.

Image	Description	Carries	Built	Type	Location
Don Mills Road bridge
View of the Don Mills Road and trail bridge from the north.	This bridge carries four lanes of traffic over the East Don River. This bridge is located south of Overlea, on the valley base.	Don Mills Road	ca. 1960	Girder
Old Don Mills Road bridge
View of the old Don Mills Road bridge, from the east.	This bridge now is used for access to a parking lot on the Charles Sauriol conservation lands.	Parkland roadway	ca. 1920	Concrete girder and arch
Don Mills Road CNR overpass bridge
View of the Don Mills Road bridge over the CNR, from the west.		Don Mills Road	ca. 1950s	Steel girder
Trail bridge over CNR rail lines
View of bailey bridge from west.	The trail bailey bridge connects the Sauriol Conservation Reserve with the trail west of Don Mills Road.	Bicycle trail 45	ca. 1990s?	Bailey Bridge
Don Valley Parkway at Forks of the Don bridge
View of bridge over East Don and CNR, from east.	The bridge carries six lanes of traffic over the East Don and the CNR rail line. On the south bank, the City of Toronto is building recreational trails.	Don Valley Parkway	ca. 1957	Concrete deck on girders
Eglinton Avenue bridge
View of bridge from south-west.	The Eglinton Avenue bridge was one of the first bridges built by Metro Toronto, connecting an important arterial road in Toronto's grid roadway system across the deep East Don ravine. The bridge carries six lanes of traffic, and like most bridges of the Metro era is a simple deck design with no ornamentation. The supporting concrete pillars are adorned with simple decoration.	Eglinton Avenue East	ca. 1950s	Concrete deck on girders
Canadian Pacific Railway Don Valley Parkway bridge
View of bridge from south	In the vicinity of north of Wynford Drive, along the south face of the East Don River valley, the CPR is carried along a long concrete bridge crossing over the Don Valley Parkway from south-west to north-east. The bridge is more or less of a culvert design with one tunnel for each carriageway of the Parkway. Another tunnel was added in the 1990s to support a new on-ramp from the Concorde Place development. The tunnel was pre-fabricated and inserted into the bridge, 2 feet (0.61 m) at a time.	CPR	ca. 1950s, 1990	Reinforced concrete culvert
Canadian Pacific Railway East Don bridge
View of bridge from south	In the vicinity of north of Wynford Drive, along the south face of the East Don River valley, the CPR is carried along a long concrete bridge crossing over the Don Valley Parkway from south-west to north-east. The railway then goes over the East Don River and over the CNR railway line in the valley below. The trestle carries one line on a wooden deck, and one line on a concrete deck. The trestle supports are staggered, supporting one side of the deck by one set of supports, the other deck by the other set.	CPR	ca. 1880s, rebuilt 1920s	Wood deck, concrete deck on trestle.
Canadian National Railway DVP Overpass bridge
View of bridge from north	The CNR rail lines travel along the west bank of the East Don River, crossing over the Don Valley Parkway in Milne Hollow, south of Lawrence Avenue.	CNR	ca. 1950s	Reinforced concrete
Lawrence Avenue/Don Valley Parkway bridge
View of DVP bridge over Don, from east. View of Lawrence Ave bridge over Don, from south.	When the Don Valley Parkway was constructed, Lawrence Avenue did not cross the Don River. As part of the project, Lawrence Avenue was connected, with an interchange with the Parkway. The interchange was 'fitted' into a meander of the River.	Don Valley Parkway, Lawrence Avenue East	ca. 1960s	Concrete deck on steel girders
Footbridge Road bridge
View of bridge from north	Footbridge Road is a public right-of-way across the Donalda Golf & Country Club, connecting two Don Mills neighbourhoods.	Footbridge Road (pedestrian bridge)	ca. 1950s	Steel truss
York Mills Road bridge
View of bridge from south.	This bridge carries six lanes of traffic, two lanes of which are only present over the bridge as York Mills is only four lanes wide east and west of the bridge. The bridge also crosses over the private property of the Donalda Golf and Country Cub.	York Mills Road	ca. 1960s	Girder
Don Mills Road bridge
View of Don Mills Road from west.	This bridge is located north of York Mills Road. The bridge carries eight lanes of traffic over the East Don River. The bridge is marked with a Metro Toronto plaque for 1966 and 2002, the dates for the initial construction and a rebuild. The river passes through a concrete spillway under the bridge. The spillway has some rocks in the bed of the spillway.	Don Mills Road	ca. 1960s	Girder
Duncan Mill Road bridge
View from the north of the Duncan Mill Road bridge.	The Duncan Mill Road bridge carries four lanes of traffic over the East Don River.	Duncan Mill Road	ca. 1960s	Girder
Highway 401 East Don Overpass bridge
View of bridge from south-east. View of underside of bridge.	This is a four-section bridge. Each section holds one component of the roadway passing overhead. The 401 highway is organized into express and collectors for both directions. The bridges carry twelve lanes of traffic and one off-ramp lane.	Ontario Highway 401	ca. 1950s	Four-section girder bridge.
Leslie Street/Sheppard Avenue bridge
View of subway bridge over East Don River. View of Sheppard Avenue/Leslie Street bridge from south-east.	At this point, the road network of Toronto intersects directly over the Don River. One bridge carries both streets over the Don, which passes on a diagonal from north-west to south-east. A subway bridge was built in the 1990s to carry the subway trains across the Don.	Leslie Street, Sheppard Avenue, TTC Sheppard Avenue subway	ca. 1960s, 2000s	Box girder, concrete
CNR Clarinda Park bridge
View of CNR trestle bridge from ravine.		CNR, GO	1920s	Trestle
Clarinda Park pedestrian bridges
Pedestrian bridges of Clarinda Park
Finch Avenue bridge
View of Finch Avenue/East Don bridge from north		Finch Avenue	ca. 1960s	Girder
Cummer Avenue bridge
View of Cummer Avenue bridge over Don from north.	North of Cummer Avenue, the East Don forks.	Cummer Avenue	ca. 1960s	Girder
Bayview Avenue bridge
View of bridge from west.	Located just south of Steeles Avenue.	Bayview Avenue	ca. 1960s	Girder
Steeles Avenue bridge
View of Steeles Avenue bridge from south	The Steeles Avenue bridge carries six lanes of traffic over the East Don.	Steeles Avenue	ca. 1960s	Girder
Bayview Avenue bridge
Bayview Avenue bridge, from west. Old Bayview Avenue bridge at Steeles	Located just north of Steeles Avenue, a small creek flows into the East Don, under an old alignment of Bayview Avenue. The East Don passes under Bayview Avenue at this point flowing from north-east to south-west.	Bayview Avenue	ca. 1960s	Concrete
Bayview Avenue bridge
View of bridge from west.	Located north of Steeles Avenue, at Doncrest Drive.	Bayview Avenue	ca. 1960s	Girder
John Street bridge
View of bridge from south.	This bridge replaced a pioneer bridge from the 1800s over the East Don. Like the older bridge, this bridge carries two lanes of traffic over the River.	John Street	ca. 1990s	Concrete
Old Langstaff Road bridge
		Old Langstaff Road	ca. 1890s	Concrete

German Mills Creek

German Mills Creek is a tributary of the East Don River, connecting with the Don just south of Steeles Avenue.

Image	Description	Carries	Built	Type	Location
Leslie Street bridge
View from west.		Leslie Street	1971	Girder with concrete deck.
Steeles Avenue bridge
View from south.	This is the last bridge on the German Mills Creek fork. North of Steeles, the Creek passes under streets and railway lines through culverts.		ca. 1970s	Girder with concrete deck.

Taylor-Massey Creek

East of the forks, the valley of Taylor-Massey Creek is narrow and deep, widening and becoming shallow from Victoria Park east. The creek is crossed by culverts east of Pharmacy Avenue. The creek was known as Taylor Creek, Massey Creek and Silver Creek.

Image	Description	Carries	Built	Type	Location
Don Valley Parkway bridge
View of bridge from south.	The bridge carries six lanes of traffic over Taylor-Massey Creek. The deck of the bridge is slightly banked, part of a curve of the Don Parkway.	Don Valley Parkway	ca. 1960	Girder
O'Connor Drive bridge
	The bridge carries four lanes of traffic over Taylor-Massey Creek.	O'Connor Drive	-	Girder
Dawes Road bridge
		Dawes Road	-	Girder
Victoria Park Avenue bridge
		Victoria Park Avenue	-	Girder
Pharmacy Avenue bridge
		Pharmacy Avenue	-	Girder

See also

• List of bridges in Toronto