There are two ways to get to Cherry Beach and its surrounding amenities along Unwin Avenue, and both involve bridges with issues.
From the north, Cherry Street uses an elderly and failing bridge over the Ship Channel. Over much of the summer, the bridge was stuck in an upright position.
From the east, Unwin Avenue uses a one-lane Bailey bridge shared by eastbound and westbound traffic, which must support a constant stream of heavy gravel trucks.
The Ship Channel bridge, now operated by Ports Toronto, was built in 1931. It is a bascule bridge, a form of lift bridge activated by 750-tonne counterweights.
The bridge is a listed heritage structure and its designer is the same engineer who designed the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco. Historical interest aside, city transportation manager Barbara Gray said its maintenance has been neglected.
"Although Ports Toronto has been undertaking piecemeal repair work over the last 20 years, it had been insufficient to maintain the now 93-year-old bridge, which as of 2021 was at the end of its service life and in an advanced state of deterioration," she wrote in a report to council.
In 2021, council agreed to contribute $22 million from the city's capital budget to help repair the bridge.
But on April 24, 2024 — just as days were getting warmer and the beach was getting busier — the bridge became stuck in an upright position, cutting off the southern part of Cherry Street. The bridge's main shaft had been bent causing what Gray called "unanticipated and significant mechanical issues."
What followed was a 155-day period in which the Ship Channel bridge was usable only about half the time.
"This put greater than anticipated demand on the existing single lane Bailey bridge on Unwin Avenue," Gray wrote.
The TTC, unable to offer a consistent bus schedule and unwilling to run its buses on the Unwin Avenue bridge, stopped bus service to Cherry Beach.
To complicate matters further, the Unwin Avenue bridge itself needed repair. This could only be done when the Ship Channel bridge was in a lowered position, or the entire area would be cut off.
Gray said the “unforeseen work which is typical with structures of this age and complexity," as well as rising costs of material, will make maintenance expensive.
Gray recommended the City contribute another $15 million to the Ship Channel bridge repair project, which is now expected to be done in 2027. (Much of the work can only be done during the navigational closure period, between Jan. 15 and April 15.)
As for the Unwin Avenue bridge, staff will present a plan in early 2025, Gray wrote.
"A number of technical studies in support of developing a preferred conceptual bridge replacement have been completed,” Gray’s report explained. "The development and evaluation of alternative bridge options is underway."
Though once neglected, the area around the mouth of the Don is being rehabilitated and reconstructed into natural parkland and a residential area housing 15,000 people.
One-lane, two-direction bridges are rare but not unknown in Toronto.
Two such bridges cross the Rouge River in Scarborough, one at Old Finch Avenue and the other at Sewells Road.
The Sewells Road bridge is controlled by a yield sign, and the Old Finch Avenue Bridge by traffic lights. The two bridges are only workable with low traffic levels.
