History
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 onramp was built to the north, connecting with Eastern. The highway was also placed directly east of the bridge and through traffic would have required a new bridge and overpass to cross it. With the Eastern onramp just to the north and the new Gardiner Expressway just to the south it was decided that a bridge was unnecessary at that point in the river. The bridge was thus disconnected from the road network. It was also fenced in to block pedestrians as the highway and the rail lines are both considered hazardous. The city considered demolishing it, but found that it would be more expensive than simply maintaining it. The city continues to inspect the bridge.
Read more about this topic: Old Eastern Avenue Bridge
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“If you look at history you’ll find that no state has been so plagued by its rulers as when power has fallen into the hands of some dabbler in philosophy or literary addict.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)
“Perhaps universal history is the history of the diverse intonation of some metaphors.”
—Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986)
“I believe that history might be, and ought to be, taught in a new fashion so as to make the meaning of it as a process of evolution intelligible to the young.”
—Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–95)