The Old Finch Avenue 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 ...

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 ancho ...

. The Finch bridge is used for limited vehicular traffic on Old Finch Avenue in north-east

to cross the Rouge River. The bridge dates back to late October 1954; it was constructed by the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army (french: Armée canadienne) is the command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also respo ...

in three working days (including the timber piles supporting in mid-stream) using bridge components from the Ontario Hydro-Electric Power Commission, after

Hurricane Hazel Hurricane Hazel was the deadliest, second costliest, and most intense hurricane of the 1954 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm killed at least 469 people in Haiti before striking the United States near the border between North and South ...

destroyed the old one. This bridge was built for single traffic; it is now controlled by traffic lights. The bridge is considered an historic landmark in Toronto, where the City of Scarborough council has erected a plaque beside the bridge which reads:

BAILEY BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION 2ND FIELD ENGINEER REGIMENT
On October 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel struck the Scarborough area with terrifying force, severely damaging or completely washing out several bridges. To maintain a safe flow of traffic throughout the Municipality, a number of Bailey Bridges were erected by the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment of the Canadian Military Engineers. This bridge is the last of those remaining in service in Scarborough. This plaque serves to commemorate the efforts of the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment in meeting this natural disaster.

There are two other Bailey bridges in the

Greater Toronto Area The Greater Toronto Area, commonly referred to as the GTA, includes the City of Toronto and the regional municipalities of Durham, Halton, Peel, and York. In total, the region contains 25 urban, suburban, and rural municipalities. The Greater T ...

: * Lake Shore Boulevard Bailey Bridge in

* 16th Avenue Bailey Bridge 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 * ...

(16th Avenue east of Reesor Road)

References

See also