Londoners seem to love watching cranes lift large, heavy pieces of the city's history.
Dozens of people, young and old, turned out Tuesday as a 650-tonne crawler crane lifted one of two new steel arches into place as part of the Victoria Bridge reconstruction project. Each of the arches are approximately 90 metres in length and weigh over 130 tonnes.
The operation being conducted to put the arches in place above the Thames River on Ridout Street is one of the largest lifts being performed in Ontario this year, according to city officials.
"The steel arches were fabricated over the winter and early spring and delivered in separate pieces to the project site for assembly," city officials said. "Once the steel arches have been placed, the remainder of steel assembly for the bridge will continue, including arch cross beams, vertical hangers and floor beams."
The city had set up a viewing area for curious onlookers in anticipation the sight of the arches being lifted would draw a crowd. By 9:30 a.m., roughly 50 people had gathered in the designated spot located at the north end of the project area, just south of Horton Street, west of Ridout Street. Others took in the show through a livestream on YouTube being offered by the city.
The lifting of the second arch is expected to happen around 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. It was originally schedule to take place on Thursday, but was moved up as a result of the successful first day of operations.
Access to nearby Thames Park is being maintained at the Wortley Street entrance while the work is taking place.
The original Victoria Bridge had been in place since 1926. It was removed last summer to make way for a new wider, more active transport-friendly structure. The new $23 million Victoria Bridge will have a wider deck surface to better accommodate cyclists, and pedestrians. In addition, it will offer improved connectivity to the Thames Valley Parkway, city officials said.
The fanfare surrounding Tuesday's arch lift was similar to that seen when the restored Holy Roller memorial tank was returned to Victoria Park in May 2022 and when Blackfriars Bridge was swung back onto its perch above the Thames in August 2018.
