Bloor Viaduct
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The Prince Edward Viaduct System, commonly referred to as the Bloor Viaduct, is the name of a
truss arch bridge A truss arch bridge combines the elements of the truss bridge and the arch bridge. The actual resolution of forces will depend upon the bridge' design. If no horizontal thrusting forces are generated, this becomes an arch-shaped truss which is ess ...
system in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ontario, Canada, connecting
Bloor Street Bloor Street is an east–west arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River (Ontario), Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkway. East ...
East, on the west side of the system, with
Danforth Avenue Danforth Avenue (informally also known as the Danforth) and Danforth Road are two historically-related arterial streets in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Danforth ''Avenue'' is an east-west street that begins in Old Toronto at the Prince Edward Vi ...
on the east. The system includes the Rosedale Valley phase (a smaller structure, referred to as the Rosedale Valley Bridge, carrying Bloor Street over the Rosedale Ravine) and the Sherbourne Phase, an embankment built to extend Bloor Street East to the Rosedale Ravine from Sherbourne Street. The Don Valley phase of the system, the most recognizable, spans the Don River Valley, crossing over (from west to east) the
Bayview Avenue Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Bayview is designated as List of numbered roads in York Region, York Regional Road 34. It is 46 ...
Extension, the Don River, and the
Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway ru ...
. The roadway has five lanes (three eastbound and two westbound) with a bicycle lane in each direction. The subway level connects
Broadview station Broadview is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The entrance to the building is from Broadview Avenue just north of Danforth Avenue. The station, which is the north-eastern terminus of the 504B King, 50 ...
in the east with and stations to the west.


History

Referendums on the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct were held in Toronto in every year from 1910 to 1913, with residents voting against its construction in 1912 by 59 votes and in favour in 1913 by 9236 votes. The projected cost of its construction increased from in 1910 to in 1913; its final cost was ($ in dollars). Upon its completion in 1918, it was named for Prince Edward, Prince of Wales (later King
Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
). The viaduct was designed to facilitate
mass transit Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whi ...
; its upper deck accommodated
streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...
s, while both the Don Valley phase and the Rosedale Valley phase included a lower deck for
rail transport Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...
, controversial at the time because of its high additional cost. The bridge's designer and the commissioner of public works, R.C. Harris, were able to have their way and the lower deck eventually proved to save millions of dollars when the
Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...
's Bloor–Danforth subway opened in 1966. The Rosedale Valley phase was not used for the subway, as the curve between each phase, as well as the curve to the west at Parliament Street, was considered too sharp for the subway. For this reason, a separate concrete bridge was built over the Rosedale Valley, just west of
Castle Frank station Castle Frank is a subway station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway. It is located at the northwest corner of Bloor Street East and Castle Frank Road. Without any major commercial, industrial or entertainment destinations, the stat ...
. The Prince Edward Viaduct resulted in more rapid development of those portions of Toronto lying on the east side of the Don Valley.


Design

Designed by Edmund W. Burke, the Prince Edward Viaduct is a three hinged concrete-steel
arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...
with a total span of 494 metres (1,620 feet), at 40 metres (131 feet) above the Don Valley. The bridge consists of a deck made of transverse beams and I-girders, which transfer load to column supports. The column supports then transfer the load to the trusses within the arches, which transfer the load to the arches themselves. Finally, the arches transfer their load through large hinges to a concrete pier and eventually to the ground. Steel was provided by
Dominion Bridge Company The Dominion Bridge Company, Limited was a Canadian steel bridge constructor originally based in Lachine, Quebec. From the core business of steel bridge component fabrication, the company diversified into related areas such as the fabrication of ...
. In addition to the
Don River The Don () is the fifth-longest river in Europe. Flowing from Central Russia to the Sea of Azov in Southern Russia, it is one of Russia's largest rivers and played an important role for traders from the Byzantine Empire. Its basin is betwee ...
, the
Don Valley Parkway The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which connects the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, it continues as Highway 404. The parkway ru ...
, and
Bayview Avenue Bayview Avenue is a major north–south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Bayview is designated as List of numbered roads in York Region, York Regional Road 34. It is 46 ...
, two railway lines, an electrical transmission line and a bicycle trail all pass under the bridge spans.


Luminous Veil

Over time, the Prince Edward Viaduct became a magnet for suicide, falling bodies posing risk to the traffic underneath. With nearly 500 suicides by 2003, the viaduct ranked as the most fatal standing structure in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
and the second most in North America, after the
Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean in California, United States. The structure links San Francisco—the northern tip of the San Francisco Peni ...
in
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. At its peak in 1997, the suicide rate averaged one person every 22 days. In 1957, a child also climbed onto the railing and fell accidentally while walking along it but survived. People who have survived the jump have had severe consequences including
paralysis Paralysis (: paralyses; also known as plegia) is a loss of Motor skill, motor function in one or more Skeletal muscle, muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory d ...
, organ damage, broken bones and lifelong pain. Most think that jumping will lead to an instant death but for many death is not instant. The suicides and safety risks prompted the construction of a barrier in 2003, though it was first approved by
Toronto City Council Toronto City Council is the governing body of the municipal government of Toronto, Ontario. Meeting at Toronto City Hall, it comprises 25 city councillors and the mayor of Toronto. The Toronto City Council 2022–2026, current term began on Nove ...
in 1998 and delayed because of concerns about funding; during that time, the viaduct was the site of an estimated 48 to 60 suicides.Mental Health Promotion: Overcoming the challenges to 'focusing upstream'
Ontario Health Promotion E-Bulletin
The council originally approved a budget. However, the minimum bid for construction was . Council eventually endorsed a fundraising campaign to raise the remainder of the money. Construction was completed in 2003 at the cost of , with coming from taxpayers. The barrier was called the ''Luminous Veil''. Designed by architect Dereck Revington and engineers at Halcrow Yolles and completed in 2003, the Luminous Veil consists of over 9,000 steel rods, apart and high, stretched to cantilevered girders.NOW: Where spirits live, May 8 - 14, 2003
The tensile structure was difficult to analyze and required several tests at the University of Toronto. Initially, cost prohibited the planned lighting to be installed on the top horizontal member. The lighting installation was completed in July 2015. The Luminous Veil received in 1999 a Canadian Architect Award of Excellence. A 2010 study found that though the barrier prevented suicide attempts from the viaduct, overall rates of suicide by jumping for the City of Toronto have not changed since its construction. However, a 2017 study with the same lead author found that "over the long term, suicide-by-jumping declined in Toronto after the barrier with no associated increase in suicide by other means".Did the suicide barrier work after all? Revisiting the Bloor Viaduct natural experiment and its impact on suicide rates in Toronto
BMJ Open, June 19, 2017. Retrieved from BMJ Open, October 10, 2019.


Popular culture

The bridge was shut down for three days to allow the filming of '' Resident Evil: Apocalypse'' (2004), where in the film it represented the only way out of Raccoon City. The Luminous Veil is referenced in the
Barenaked Ladies Barenaked Ladies (BNL) is a Canadian Rock music, rock band which was formed in 1988 in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, Ontario. The band developed a following in Canada, with their Barenaked Ladies (EP), self-titled 1991 cassette becoming th ...
song "War on Drugs". The 1987 novel"In the Skin of a Lion" by Canadian–Sri Lankan writer
Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer and essayist. Ondaatje's literary career began with his poetry in 1967, publishing ''The Dainty Monsters'', and then in 1970 the critically a ...
, fictionalizes the lives of immigrants who played a large role in building the city of Toronto in the early 1900s, including prominently that of the Prince Edward viaduct bridge.


See also

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Royal eponyms in Canada In Canada, a number of sites and structures are named for royal individuals, whether a member of the past French royal family, British royal family, or present Canadian royal family thus reflecting the country's status as a constitutional mona ...
*
Suicide bridge A suicide bridge is a bridge used frequently by people to end their lives, most typically by jumping off and into the water or ground below. A fall from the height of a tall bridge into water may be fatal, although some people have survived jumps ...
*
List of bridges in Canada This is a list of bridges and viaducts in Canada, including those for pedestrians and vehicular traffic. Historical and architectural interest bridges There are only a few covered bridges left in Canada. In Quebec, despite over 1,200 existing ...


References


External links

{{Toronto landmarks Railway bridges in Ontario Bridges completed in 1918 Bridges completed in 1966 Bridges in Toronto Don River (Ontario) Double-decker bridges Road-rail bridges in Canada Viaducts in Canada Truss arch bridges in Canada Concrete bridges in Canada Road bridges in Ontario Public art in Toronto Suicide prevention