Images and a video of how the Simcoe Street and Farewell bridges in Oshawa were demolished, has been released by Metrolinx, the operator of GO Transit.
The Simcoe Street bridge ran over the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) railway line.
The two-year rebuild of the bridge is part of the Lakeshore East extension via Courtice to Bowmanville in the Municipality of Clarington.
Work has started on building the foundation for a new, modern bridge (see below) as well as a new rail line underneath.
Piece by piece, the bridge, which was more than 100 years old, came down down, said Metrolinx.
Farewell to Farewell
As part of the Bowmanville Extension, crews have demolished the Farewell Street pedestrian bridge to make way for a new, fully accessible bridge that will better serve the local neighbourhood and support future rail expansion.
These are two of several major infrastructure upgrades happening across Durham Region, as part of the Bowmanville Extension.
I believe the reconstruction of the Simcoe Street bridge is premature and serves only to give business to one of Metrolinx’s “private partners”. First, there would have to be a bridge over the 401, and there is no sign of that. Actually, taking a GO train on that route would involve a hard-left turn over the 401 and then a hard-right turn eastward along the CP line. A civil engineer has told me that such a move for a 12-car, double-decker behemoth (GO train) would be difficult and very dangerous. The whole plan to put a GO station on the First Street property is delusional. Better to extend the GO train along the CN right-of-way due eastward to Bowmanville.