Old Finch Avenue Bailey Bridge

Old Finch Avenue Bailey Bridge
Old Finch Avenue Bailey Bridge
	Old Finch Bailey Bridge
Coordinates	43°49′31″N 79°11′49″W / 43.825171°N 79.196869°W
Carries	single lane vehicular traffic
Crosses	Rouge River
Locale	Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Maintained by	Toronto Transportation Services
Characteristics
Design	Bailey bridge
Total length	40 metres (130 ft)
Clearance below	Rouge River
History
Constructed by	32 Combat Engineer Regiment, Canadian Army
Opened	1954
Location

The Old Finch Avenue bridge is a Bailey bridge in Toronto. The Finch bridge is used for limited vehicular traffic on Old Finch Avenue in north-east Toronto to cross the Rouge River. The bridge dates back to late October 1954; it was constructed by the Canadian Army 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 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,^[1] 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.^[2]

There are two other Bailey bridges in the Greater Toronto Area:

Lake Shore Boulevard Bailey Bridge in Toronto
16th Avenue Bailey Bridge in Markham (16th Avenue east of Reesor Road)

References

^ "Bailey Bridge Construction 2nd Field Engineer Regiment". Toronto's Historical Plaques. Alan L Brown. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
^ Scarborough City Council. "BAILEY BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION 2ND FIELD ENGINEER REGIMENT". Commemorative Plaque. Retrieved 2010-01-09.

v t e Bridges in Toronto
Crossing the Rouge River	Old Finch Avenue Bailey Bridge Sewells Road Bridge
Crossing the Don River	Cherry Street lift bridge Gardiner Expressway Old Eastern Avenue Bridge Queen Street Viaduct Gerrard Street Bridge Dundas Street Bridge Prince Edward Viaduct Rosedale Valley Bridge Leaside Bridge Sheppard Avenue Bridge
Pedestrian	Amsterdam Bridge Humber Bay Arch Bridge Lake Shore Boulevard Bailey Bridge Old Finch Avenue Bailey Bridge SkyWalk
Other bridges over waterways	Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge Vale of Avoca Bridge Governor's Bridge
Other	Crawford Street Bridge Dufferin Street bridges Harbord Street Bridge Sir Isaac Brock Bridge

References

See also