For the first time in 142 years, Blackfriars Bridge is no longer sitting high above the Thames River.
Construction crews, beginning work before sunrise, removed the historic structure from its foundation on Monday. Massive cranes were brought in, one from the United States, for the lengthy process that saw the wrought iron bridge connected to supportive lifts before being raised off its foundation and lowered to within a short distance of the river.
From there workers, who were suspended in the air, fired up torches and began cutting the bridge in two. The two sections were to be raised onto land and trucked to another site for rehabilitation. City officials have estimated the rebuild will take a year to complete.
Dave MacPherson brought his adult son and 8-year-old grandson from St. Marys to see the once in a life time removal.
"We understood that this was the first time that a lift of this sort has been attempted, to lift a truss bridge up in the air," said MacPherson, who found a spot along the riverbank, just off of the Thames Valley Parkway to watch the crews work.
MacPherson arrived at the site at 8am, fashioned a chair out of some old drift wood and played 20 questions with his grandson Jordon to pass the time. As the bridge was lowered more than four hours later, he was quick to note that it had been worth the wait to see.
"It was terrific," said MacPherson. "I worked a little construction and I always enjoyed seeing the machines do their work, and the ones here today had their work cut out for them."
While Jordon doesn't foresee a future as a civil engineer, he was happy his grandfather pulled him out of school for what he called a unique educational experience.
"It was really fun and I enjoyed it," he said.
Dubbed one of the oldest and rarest bridges in Canada, Blackfriars Bridge was built in 1875. Since then the wrought iron bowstring arch-truss bridge has spanned the north branch of the Thames River, connecting Ridout St. to Blackfriars St. It was designated as a Heritage Structure in April 1992 and appears on both the Ontario Heritage Bridge list and the Canadian Register of Historic Places.
It was closed to vehicle traffic in September 2013 due to excessive deterioration. Last month, it was also closed to pedestrians and cyclists as construction crews began work to prepare the bridge for its big move. That work included the removal of safety features like pedestrian fencing, traffic railings, pedestrian railings, and deck boards.
The $7.9-million restoration project will extend the life of Blackfriars Bridge by another 75 years.
