Old (16th Avenue) Bailey Bridge is a

Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, pre-fabricated, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British for military use during the Second World War and saw extensive use by British, Canadian and American military engineering units. A ...

located below 16th Avenue ( York Regional Road 73) east of Reesor Road within

Rouge Park Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of river in ...

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. The bridge crossed the Little Rouge Creek, a tributary of the Rouge River. A new bridge was built above this bridge to provide two way access for 16th Avenue east of Ressor Road. The old bridge is in situ with ends fenced off to prevent trespassing.

History

The wood-plank-deck steel bridge was constructed in . It was last restored in 1965. Little has changed for the traffic in the area, which is still rural and agricultural with land use protected as is within the boundaries of

Rouge National Urban Park Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of river in Toront ...

Replacement

An assessment by

York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional M ...

and

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is a conservation authority in southern Ontario, Canada. It owns about of land in the Toronto region, and it employs more than 400 full-time employees and coordinates more than 3,000 voluntee ...

in 2007 suggested the bridge be removed when the road was realigned and widened, though still noted that it "is of heritage interest", although it was, at the time, not listed in the Markham Heritage Inventory. In a 2010 report from the Transportation Services Committee to the Regional Council, Rouge Park management indicated their desire to maintain the Bailey bridge for pedestrian use. In mid-2011, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority accepted the proposal to save the bridge for use in a future trail as part of Rouge National Urban Park by

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

, after 16th Avenue was realigned and widened to eliminate the jog at Reesor Road. By 2014, the realignment was complete and

overpass An overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and ''underpass'' together form ...

built over the bridge. Roadway sections that formerly dipped downward to meet the old bridge are now gravel

embankment Embankment may refer to: Geology and geography * A levee, an artificial bank raised above the immediately surrounding land to redirect or prevent flooding by a river, lake or sea * Embankment (earthworks), a raised bank to carry a road, railwa ...

s for the new bridge. Old

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

s remain in place as the old bridge is still in place. Mesh fencing closes off either end of the Bailey bridge to discourage trespassing. The bridge was an early example of a Bailey bridge. They are now rare in

- vehicular traffic Other major bridges in Markham: * Warden Avenue Berczy Creek North Bridge: built during widening of Warden between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue * Warden Avenue Berczy Creek South Bridge: built during widening of Warden between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue * Warden Avenue Carlton Creek Bridge: built during widening of Warden between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue * Highway 7 East Beaver Creek Bridge: built during widening of Highway 7 for VivaNext busway * Highway 7 Bullock Drive Bridge * Highway 7 Roddick Road Bridge: built during widening of Highway 7 for VivaNext busway * Highway 7 Brown's Corner Bridge (near Woodbine Avenue): built during widening of Highway 7 for VivaNext busway * Birchmount Road Rouge River Bridge: built during extension of Birchmount from 14th Avenue to Highway 7 * Markham Road Rouge River Bridge: replacement and widening of road north of Highway 407 completed 2015 * Box Grove Bridge: over Rouge River completed 1991

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place = Rouge River , bridge = 16th Avenue Bailey Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream = Reesor Road overpass , upstream signs = , downstream = Highway 7 overpass , downstream signs = Road bridges in Ontario 1945 establishments in Ontario 2014 disestablishments in Ontario

History

Replacement

See also

References