The Cherry Street lift bridge over the Keating Channel is the smaller of two bascule lift bridges on Cherry Street, in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

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 C ...

, Canada. The bridge spans the

canalized River engineering is a discipline of civil engineering which studies human intervention in the course, characteristics, or flow of a river with the intention of producing some defined benefit. People have intervened in the natural course and b ...

mouth of the

Don River The Don ( rus, Дон, p=don) is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its ...

where it empties into

Toronto Harbour Toronto Harbour or Toronto Bay is a bay on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a natural harbour, protected from Lake Ontario waves by the Toronto Islands. Today, the harbour is used primarily for recreational b ...

. It is the fourth bridge at that location.

History

The

City of Toronto government The municipal government of Toronto ( incorporated as the City of Toronto) is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its structure and powers are set out in the '' City of Tor ...

once operated a swing bridge over the Keating Channel at or near Cherry Street. The current bridge, constructed in 1968, is a vehicle and pedestrian

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

, with a metal mesh deck. The original

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...

was made of wood, and only carried a single rail line, operated by the

Grand Trunk Railway The Grand Trunk Railway (; french: Grand Tronc) was a railway system that operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario and in the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The rail ...

. The City solicited a bid for the first swing bridge in 1896. Contractors were allowed to propose either a metal or wood bridge. The

Privy Council of Canada The 's Privy Council for Canada (french: Conseil privé du Roi pour le Canada),) during the reign of a queen. sometimes called Majesty's Privy Council for Canada or simply the Privy Council (PC), is the full group of personal consultants to the ...

approved funding of the bridge in 1900. The two spans were long, which was considered ''sufficient to accommodate navigation on the river."'' The wooden bridge was replaced by steel draw bridges in 1912 and 1932. As originally constructed the bridge supported two lanes of traffic in each direction, and had a sidewalk on the west side. In 1995, several changes were made to provide ''"enhanced safety for cyclists, skaters, and pedestrians."'' As-built the entire deck of the bridge, including the sidewalk, was a steel mesh. In 1995 vehicle traffic was restricted to one lane in each direction to make room for a sidewalk on the east side of the bridge, and the expansion of the sidewalk on the west side to so it could accommodate bicycles as well as pedestrians. The sidewalks were faced with a non-slip plastic fibreglass surface. In 2006, an inspection showed that the bridge required million in repairs to corrosion damage. The repairs were completed in April 2007. Key bearings in the bridge broke in 2010; it took time for replacement bearings to be found in Sweden. The bridge wasn't restored to working order until June 27, 2011. On August 1, 2019, the bridge failed to lower. It remained locked in its upright position for several weeks. A crane was used to lower the bridge to the horizontal position. The bridge is currently under repair.

Future

The

's long-term plans are to "renaturalize" the mouth of the Don River. Under this plan the Keating Channel will be retained, due to its historic value, but a new more natural-appearing channel would be constructed south of the Keating Channel. The current bridge will be replaced by the new Cherry Street North bridges. The pre-fabricated spans for the two side-by-side bridges are expected to be delivered by 2022. File:A wooden swing bridge over the Keating Channel in 1910.jpg, Wooden swing bridge over the Keating Channel in 1910. File:Drawbridge over the Don River, ca. 1915.jpg, 1912 draw bridge

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place =

Don River (Ontario) The Don River is a watercourse in southern Ontario that empties into Lake Ontario, at Toronto Harbour. Its mouth was just east of the street grid of the town of York, Upper Canada, the municipality that evolved into Toronto, Ontario. The Don is ...

, bridge = Cherry Street Lift Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream =

Old Eastern Avenue Bridge The Old Eastern Avenue Bridge (also known erroneously as the King Street Bridge) consists of two bridges spanning the Don River in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The north bridge or ''Gas Line Bridge'' is a concrete arch bridge built for Consumer's Gas ...

/ unnamed utility bridge/ Canadian National Railway overpass / Gardiner Expressway , upstream signs = , downstream = None , downstream signs = Bridges in Toronto Bascule bridges

History

Future

See also

References