User:Alaney2k/Bridges of the Lower 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 Lower Don valley is located between Lake Ontario, north to the forks of the Don. The Lower Don was a former bay of Lake Iroquois from the area of today's Prince Edward Viaduct, north and east to the Forks. The area south of the Viaduct was exposed when Lake Iroquois drained below the level of today's Lake Ontario, then a higher floodplain emerged from deposition after Lake Ontario rose to its present level, reducing the speed of the water and slope of the Lower Don to today's approximate course.

The Don used to meet Lake Ontario in the area of Toronto Harbour into a large wetlands. The wetlands were filled in, and the Don was re-routed into today's Keating Channel. The Don's channel from the Keating north, to north of today's Gerrard Street was straightened in the Don Improvement Project and roadways were built on both banks of the river. As part of the Don Valley Parkway project, the west bank roadway was connected to Bayview Avenue to the north. The east roadway was developed and widened into the Parkway. Part of the east side roadway, which climbed up to the intersection of Danforth Avenue and Broadview Avenue, was converted into an on-ramp to the northbound Parkway.

One of the first bridges across the Don was at the current Queen Street location, dating from 1800. The bridge was maintained by Henry Scadding, who had a cabin nearby. The cabin now resides at Exhibition Place. Another bridge across the Don was in the vicinity of today's Riverdale Park bridge. It was an extension of Winchester Street from the village of Don Vale, in the area of today's Riverdale Farm, across the Don connecting to the original Don Mills Road, now known as Broadview Avenue.

Lower Don bridges

The bridges of the Lower Don valley, from south (location of the mouth) to north. At Don Mills Road, the Don forks into the West Don River, the East Don River and Taylor Massey Creek.

Image	Description	Carries	Built	Type	Location
Cherry Street bridge
Cherry Street Lift Bridge, from the north.	The lift bridge span the Keating Channel section of the Don River. It is located at the mouth of the Don River where it enters Toronto Harbour. The bridge lifts to allow boats into the Keating Channel.	Cherry Street	ca. 1920s	Hinged steel lift	43.64758278261061°N 79.3543389225739°W / 43.64758278261061; -79.3543389225739 (Cherry Street Bridge)
Lake Shore Boulevard and Gardiner Expressway bridge
Complex bridge structure of the Gardiner and Lake Shore.	In this bridge, Lake Shore Boulevard travels over the Don River on the lower level steel truss bridge. The Gardiner Expressway crosses in two upper levels. The east-bound lanes are at a higher level than the westbound lanes. In the structure directly over the Don River, the steel support columns of the Gardiner are not encased in concrete, as they are in all locations over land. On the north side of the bridge, a one-track railway bridge forms part of the structure. The Lake Shore and Gardiner bridge is located at the east end of the Keating Channel. The bridge blocks boat traffic north of the Channel due to its low construction over the River. By the date of construction, the river had been blocked to boat access by the low height of the railway viaduct bridge.	Lake Shore Boulevard, Gardiner Expressway CNR	ca. 1960s	Box girder	43.65053300965014°N 79.34857761503605°W / 43.65053300965014; -79.34857761503605 (Saint-Laurent Railway Bridge)
Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway connecting ramps
View of the 'flyover' connecting ramps over the Don River. View along the riverbank.	The Gardiner Expressway flies over the Don River at one height, while connecting ramps between the Don Valley Parkway and the Gardiner pass directly over the Don, descending from the Gardiner height to the level of the east bank of the Don River. Both connecting ramps carry two lanes of traffic and are truss bridges supported by steel beams resting on steel-reinforced concrete pylons.	Don Valley Parkway	ca. 1960s	Box girder
Lower Don Trail bridge
Pedestrian bridge over lower Don from south.	The pedestrian bridge links the Don recreation trail, which goes north from this location, to the east/west trail along Lake Shore Boulevard to the east.	Pedestrian	ca. 2000s	Truss
Toronto Railway Viaduct bridge
Railway bridge over Lower Don.	This bridge has three sections of different construction. The section on the left, completed in 2009 was built to accomodate the Don River Trail underneath. The central section is steel, while the right-hand section uses steel beams enclosed and faced with concrete. The bridge carries three sets of rails.	CNR, GO	ca. 1920s, 2009	girder
Old Eastern Avenue bridge
View of old Eastern Avenue bridges from the south.	Main article: Old Eastern Avenue Bridge The Old Eastern Avenue Bridge is actually two bridges spanning the Don River. The southern bridge is unused but once carried traffic on Eastern Avenue. The north bridge is a concrete arch bridge and is used by Enbridge Gas to carry a major gas main and the south a Truss bridge similar to Queen Street Bridge or Bathurst Street Bridge. The bridge was built in 1933 replacing an older wooden bridge that had been damaged by ice on the Don River. The original cost was $70,864.07. The bridge was abandoned in 1964 after the construction of the Don Valley Parkway. A new on-ramp was built to the north, connecting with Eastern.	abandoned, utilities	1933	Truss
Eastern Avenue bridge
View of Eastern Avenue bridge from south-east.	This bridge connects Eastern Avenue and Richmond Street to the west of the Don to Eastern Avenue east of the Don. The bridge was built as part of the Don Valley Parkway project, and incorporates a south-bound off-ramp to west-bound Richmond Street. The bridge carries four lanes of traffic.	Eastern Avenue	ca. 1960	Box girder
Queen Street bridge
Queen Street Bridge over the Don from the west.	Main article: Queen Street Viaduct The current bridge is likely the third bridge carrying Queen Street over the Don River. The first was destroyed by flood in 1878, and the current bridge was built in 1911. The bridge was built at a height sufficient to allow boat access north of the bridge along the Don River Improvement Channel. The bridge carries four lanes of traffic and two sets of rails are embedded in the pavement for streetcars.	Queen Street	1911	Truss
Dundas Street bridge
View of Dundas Street bridge from south.	The bridge, likely the second bridge carrying Dundas Street over the Don River, was built at a height sufficient to allow boat access north of the bridge along the Don River Improvement Channel although it was built at the time of the Don Valley Parkway. The bridge carries four lanes of traffic. Two sets of rails are embedded in the pavement for streetcars.	Dundas Street	ca. 1930s	Girder, central arch
Gerrard Street bridge
View of Gerrard Street bridge from south.	This is the third bridge to carry Gerrard Street across the Don River. The first was destroyed in a flood in 1878. The second bridge was replaced by the current bridge. The bridge was built at a height sufficient to allow boat access north of the bridge along the Don River Improvement Channel although it was built at the time of the Don Valley Parkway. The bridge carries four lanes of traffic. Two sets of rails are embedded in the pavement for streetcars.	Gerrard Street	ca. 1930s	Girder supported by steel arches.
Riverdale Park pedestrian bridge
Pedestrian bridge over Parkway, River and Bayview Avenue. Viewed from south.	The pedestrian bridge connecting the west and east halves of Riverdale Park is built on the location of an older Winchester Street bridge, which was a roadway connecting the hamlet of Don Vale with the east side of the Don, and connected to the old Don Mills road of the day. The bridge was built as part of the Don Valley Parkway project.	pedestrian	ca. 1965	Girder
CPR Lower Don railway bridge
CPR tracks crossing the lower Don.	Just north of the Riverdale pedestrian bridge, the combined north-south main rail line splits to two alignments, one for the CNR, which runs along the west bank of the Don. The CPR rails cross the river to the east bank at this location. It carries one set of rails across the lower Don.	CPR	ca. 1880s, rebuilt 1920s
Prince Edward Viaduct
Prince Edward Viaduct from the south-east.	Main article: Prince Edward Viaduct The Prince Edward Viaduct, one of the more famous bridges of the Don River Valley was constructed to connect Bloor Street from the west to Danforth Avenue to the east, connecting the Chester settlements with Toronto proper and facilitate development in the area. The bridge was constructed with a lower level that is used today for rapid transit trains. The bridge was finished in 1918. Its lower level was unused for 50 years before its first use for trains and was considered a folly in its time. The bridge carries six lanes of traffic.	Bloor Street	1918	Truss arch bridge
CPR "Half-mile" railway bridge
View of Half-mile bridge from west, on Bayview Avenue, in Toronto.	When the Canadian Pacific Railway built its connection to downtown Toronto in the 1880s from the north, it secured a right-of-way on the west bank of the Don south of Bloor Street. To connect to the right-of-way, the CPR had to cross the Don River valley from the north, descending from the height of the northern cliff to the lower level of the floodplain. The ability of trains to ascend and descend grades led to the building of a long 1,700 feet (520 m) bridge, nicknamed the 'half-mile bridge' although it is well shorter. It was re-constructed in the 1920s to support heavier trains. It carries one set of rails for trains.	CPR	ca. 1880s, rebuilt 1920s	Former: Trestle Today: Girder
Don Valley - Bloor/Bayview off-ramp bridges
View of river bridge from south. View of bridge over CNR tracks from south. Bridge over Bayview Avenue, from south.	These bridges were built to connect the initial stage of the Don Valley Parkway in the 1950s to Bloor Street. The off-ramp carries four lanes of traffic as it passes over the Don River. The river bridge, built on steel beams has two spans. Under the west span, the Don is crossed. The Don River Trail passes under the east span. To the west, the off-ramp passes over the CNR rail tracks over a steel bridge resting on concrete pylons. Further, another bridge passes over Bayview Avenue.	Don Valley Parkway off-ramp	ca. 1959	Girder
Pottery Road bridge
View of concrete bridge over Don. View of girder bridge over Don.	Pottery Road today connects Bayview Avenue with Broadview Avenue. When first constructed, Pottery Road connected the settlement of Todmorden (along today's Broadview Avenue) with the Taylor Mills at today's Todmorden Mills buildings and the Taylor-owned Don Valley Brick Works. The original bridge carries one lane of traffic headed south-east towards Broadview Avenue. A second bridge was constructed alongside the old bridge for north-bound traffic.	Pottery Road	ca. 1920s (concrete bridge) ca. 1960s (girder bridge)	Concrete arch, girder
Todmorden Mills bridge
View of Todmorden Mills footbridge from south.	When this bridge was constructed, the Don River passed through a meander through this area. A roadway was carried across the bridge linking Todmorden to the Don Valley Brick Works to the west. When the Don Valley Parkway was constructed, this meander was cut off with a new channel to the west, on the western side of the Parkway. The roadway was removed from Bayview Avenue east to Todmorden. In 2010, the old bridge was demolished and replaced with a steel truss foot bridge.	pedestrians	2010	Truss
CNR bridges
First CNR bridge,from south.	The CNR rail line goes through the Lower Don valley, crossing the lower Don twice as it meanders.	CNR	ca. 1920s	Steel
Leaside bridge
The Leaside Bridge from the ravine below.	Main article: Leaside Bridge The bridge carrying Millwood Road was built to connect the then Town of Leaside to the then Township of East York on October 29, 1927. It underwent extensive upgrades and reconstruction in both 1969 and 2004 to 2006. The bridge carries six lanes of traffic.	Millwood Road	1927	Truss arch

See also

• List of bridges in Toronto