John St. Bridge Closed In Thornhill After Workers Discover Surprising Structural Problems
Posted April 7, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s one of the busiest places in Thornhill, a location that sees a lot of traffic as drivers try to get to work, home and to businesses in the area. But now it’s something else altogether – off limits to everyone.
It’s the John St. bridge which runs between Bayview and Henderson Ave. And no one can say just when you’ll be able to use it again.
What happened to shut down one of the key conduits in the busy area? Sharp-eyed crews repairing potholes near the bridge spotted what they’re calling ‘severe damage’ caused by the brutal winter weather and they’ve been forced to close the span for emergency repair. It could last as long as two months.
Sections of the span were seen starting to crumble and while repairs were scheduled to begin later this summer, officials decided to move up the timetable.
Traffic will be diverted to Steeles, Proctor, Royal Orchard Boulevard and Langstaff Road until it’s all back in service. But if you live in that area or need to get somewhere near there in a hurry over the next few weeks, expect to be detoured – and delayed.
A bridge too far?
CityNews has received a number of questions about this story, wondering why we’re locating the bridge in Thornhill. And here’s the answer from no less an expert than the corporate communications director of the Town of Markham herself.
“I can understand the confusion,” Janet Carnegie writes in an email to CityNews.ca. “The bridge is in the portion of Thornhill that is within the Markham boundaries. Just for background, the Town of Markham is made up of the four communities, Markham, Milliken, Unionville and Thornhill east of Yonge Street.”
Therefore, despite its location, the bridge is correctly identified as being in Thornhill.
