The Old Eastern Avenue Bridge (also known erroneously as the King Street Bridge) consisted of two bridges spanning 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 ...

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. The north bridge or ''Gas Line Bridge'' was a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

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 ...

built for Consumer's Gas Company and is used by Enbridge Gas to carry a major gas main. The southern

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a brid ...

bridge, similar to Queen Street Viaduct and Sir Isaac Brock Bridge, previously carried traffic on Eastern Avenue but is currently unused.

History

The bridge was built in 1933 replacing an older wooden bridge that had been damaged by ice on the Don River in 1900. The original cost was $70,864.07. The bridge was closed off in 1964 after the construction of 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 ...

. Eastern's east and west halves crossed the Don River north of the old alignment via a new large bridge with ramps connecting to the Don Valley Parkway, and this viaduct (known as the Eastern Avenue Bypass in some maps) forked out and become the eastern terminus of both Richmond and Adelaide streets. With the Eastern Avenue Bypass just to the north and the elevated

Gardiner Expressway The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, commonly known as the Gardiner Expressway or simply the Gardiner, is a partially at grade and elevated municipal expressway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Running close to the shore of Lake Ontario, it exten ...

just to the south, it was decided that the existing Eastern Avenue bridge was unnecessary at that point on the Don River. The bridge was thus disconnected from the road network, and also fenced in to block pedestrians as the Parkway and the rail lines are both considered hazardous. Dismantling of the bridge took place between September and October of 2024, citing safety reasons.

The bridge was deemed unsafe and removal required for

East Harbour Transit Hub East Harbour Transit Hub is a combined commuter and rapid transit station under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. For GO Transit, it will be an infill station on the Lakeshore East line between the and stations. The transit hub will als ...

project. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cbICVWxusIo

References

*"Dead little bridges, like the steel truss-strengthened span on Eastern Avenue, can put an urban explorer in a melancholy mood." John Bentley Mays. ''The Globe and Mail.'' Feb 15, 1995. pg. C.3 *"Spans recall past Bridges to nowhere rest unnoticed beside Toronto expressway." Donald Grant. ''The Globe and Mail.'' Apr 30, 1984. pg. M.3 {{Crossings navbox , structure = Bridges , place =

Don River (Ontario) The Don River is a watercourse in southern Ontario that empties into Lake Ontario, at Toronto Harbour. Its mouth was just east of the street grid of the town of York, Upper Canada, the municipality that evolved into Toronto, Ontario. The Don is ...

, bridge = Old Eastern Avenue bridge , bridge signs = , upstream = Queen Street Viaduct , upstream signs = , downstream =

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

bridge /

, downstream signs = Bridges in Toronto Truss bridges in Canada Bridges completed in 1933