Province’s Bridges In Serious Need Of Repair, Study Finds

You drive on them – and under them – every day. What would happen if one suddenly collapsed while you were near it? That’s the worry those who build bridges in Ontario are expressing after their new study predicts many of the aging structures aren’t being properly maintained.

The Residential and Civil Construction Alliance of Ontario warns some 12,000 bridges across the province were built 40 to 50 years ago and may have outlived their life spans. Add in municipalities delaying the proper repairs because of a perennial budget squeeze and you have a recipe for disaster.

It’s already happened all around us. It was a little over a year ago that five people died when a bridge collapsed in Laval, Quebec. This past August, 13 people were killed and 100 more were injured when a highway bridge came crashing down in Minnesota. Construction crews narrowly avoided death when a bridge suddenly gave way earlier this month in Goderich.

And we don’t need to look that far to see problems closer to home. In August, a 40-pound chunk of concrete fell from the Gardiner Expressway onto the Lakeshore, miraculously missing every car using the always busy route. It was the third such incident of the year here, including one in May, when a huge boulder-sized rock slipped off the Kipling Bridge and came crashing down onto that same highway.

The researchers complain similar conditions exist everywhere and note there’s no central agency to ensure that they’re all inspected.  “There’s no oversight, no inspection enforcement and no assurance that municipal bridges in Ontario are being maintained and operated properly,” charges the Alliance’s Robert Nairn.

But while the city of Toronto admits there’s a delay on repairs, they’re better off than most. “Our total backlog of road and bridge repairs is in excess of $300 million, and we’re trying to get additional money,” admits spokesman Gary Welsh. But he adds the city is diligent in sending inspectors out to take a closer look at all the overpasses to ensure they don’t need any major fixes.

In the end, much of it comes down to the two constants – time and money. The Federation of Canadian Municipalities estimates $123 billion is needed to fix aging infrastructure. And many others agree something needs to be done now. “I feel unsafe being under them,” one driver relates looking up at the mass of concrete that towers above.
 
“They have to direct more of the resources that they’ve got towards rebuilding the infrastructure,” adds motorist Michael Canning.

The report suggests bridges be inspected twice a year and that municipalities be given more money to pay for repairs. And they want that dough before a Minnesota or a Laval takes place on – and over – the streets of Toronto.

Read the full report (PDF file)

Report Highlights

• Small and rural municipalities with a fixed tax base have the hardest time keeping up with repairs. The cost of upkeep on even a single structure that costs a million dollars can break a small city’s budget.
• Larger cities aren’t immune to bridge and infrastructure repairs costs, despite a larger tax base.
• Downloading of roads and bridges to municipalities has caused a significant financial burden on some municipalities.
• Cities that can’t afford the upkeep may be forced to defer the repairs, increasing the danger of problems and making future upkeep even more expensive.
• Cities with bridges that span lakes and rivers are especially hard hit, because their crossing points are longer and the upkeep greater.
• Without a definitive oversight or enforcement to ensure that bridge inspections are being performed consistently and in accordance with the legislation, there’s no way of knowing if all Ontario bridges are safe.
• There’s concern that the competitive process used to award bridge inspection work is adversely affecting the thoroughness of the inspections. This process may be discouraging the use of higher cost state-of-the-art bridge testing technologies, or work being undertaken by more highly paid but appropriate accredited professionals.
• One time government funding programs don’t allow municipalities to properly plan and budget bridge rehabilitation work.
• Historically provincial budget allocations for health and other social services have been given a higher priority than core infrastructure (roads and bridges) projects.

Here’s a list of some of Toronto’s major bridges and overpasses. All need regular maintenance to ensure they stand the test of time – and traffic.

Over The Don River

Cherry St.
King St. Bridge
Queen St. Bridge
Prince Edward Viaduct
Pottery Rd.
Leaside Bridge
Bayview north of Lawrence Avenue E.
Don Mills Rd.
Hogg’s Hollow Bridge
Sheppard Avenue east of Bathurst St.
Steeles west of Bayview Ave.
Steeles east of Leslie St.

Over The Humber River

Finch & Islington Ave.
Highway 27
Martin Grove Rd.
Kipling Avenue
Albion Rd.
The Queensway
Steeles west of Islington Ave.
Scarlett Rd.
St Phillip’s Rd.

Other Bridges/Overpasses

Cherry St. over the Keating Shipping Channel
Unwin Ave. over the Keating Shipping Channel
Kingston Rd. over the Rouge River
Mount Pleasant north of Blythwood Rd.
Markham between Lawrence and Eglinton Ave. E.
Bathurst St. over Cedarvale Park
Don Mills over Highway 401
Lawrence E. over the D.V.P.
Lawrence W. over Allen Rd.
Glencairn over Allen Rd.
Finch over Highway 404
Sheppard over Highway 404
Steeles over Highway 404
Wynford Drive over the D.V.P.
 Flemington Rd. over Allen Rd.
Wilson Height Blvd over Transit Rd.
Rosedale Valley over Mount Pleasant Rd.
Bloor over Rosedale Valley Rd.
Queen over D.V.P.
Gerrard over D.V.P.
Dundas over D.V.P.
Dundas over Kiping Ave.
Bloor over Kipling Ave.
Bloor over Highway 427
Dundas over Highway 427 
Burnhamthorpe Rd. over Highway 427 
Rathburn over Highway 427 
Dixon over Highway 27 
Highway 401 off ramp over Yonge St.
Highway 401 over Bathurst St. near Wilson Ave.
Highway 401 over Wilson Ave. east of Bathurst St.
Albion over Weston Rd.
Highway 401 over Wendell Ave.
Highway 400 over Wilson Ave.
Highway 400 over Finch Ave. West
Sheppard over Highway 400 
Highway 400 over Steeles Ave. West
Highway 400 over Jane St.
Dufferin over Gardiner Expressway
Westbound Lakeshore over Gardiner Expressway
Eastern west of D.V.P.
Finch over Highway 427 
Morningstar over Highway 427 
Rexdale over Highway 427 
Browns Line north of Lakeshore Blvd West
Spanbridge over D.V.P.
St Dennis over D.V.P.
Eglinton over D.V.P.
Van Horne over Highway 404 
McNicoll over Highway 404

Source: City of Toronto

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