These are the oldest bridges in Toronto.
King Street West Railway Subway
Completed in 1888, this bridge serves much the same function today as it
did back then: to keep two of the city's busiest transit corridors
apart from one another. Designed by Charles Sproatt, a city engineer,
the underpass helped to open access to Parkdale, which was annexed by
Toronto in 1889.
Keele Street overpass
They don't call it the Junction for no reason, and this underpass is a
living reminder of the importance of the railway to this former
industrial hub in Toronto. Completed in 1891, the bridge helped usher
Canadian Pacific trains across busy Keele St. without disrupting the
flow of traffic to the Stockyards.
Queen Street Subway
Started in 1894, it took five years to complete this sprawling subway
spanning Queen St. West. It solved the problem of traffic hold ups on
the street it crosses, but also led to what was called the Dufferin Jog, a detour that led to its own delays. An extension to the bridge and a new underpass solved the problem in 2010.
Bathurst Street Bridge
This steel truss bridge was built in 1903 but wasn't installed in its
current location. It was moved from the Humber River to Bathurst St. in
1916 after being disassembled. Then in 1931 it was re-positioned to
accommodate streetcar service on the street. It still provides one of
the nicer angles on the Toronto skyline (even as CityPlace encroaches on
the view).
Lansdowne overpass
There's still plenty of evidence of Dupont's industrial legacy, much of
which was nestled around Lansdowne Ave. This CP underpass (opened in
1907) allowed easy access to the Canadian General Electric Company,
which once sat just north of the bridge.
Photos via the Toronto Archives and Ben Roffelsen (King Street Subway).
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