More than 80-year-old highway bridge west of Toronto spared tear down as province pledges to rehabilitate

Portions of the six-lane bridge date back to the 1930s. PHOTO: Infrastructure Ontario

A historically significant and vitally important bridge that carries the Queen Elizabeth Way over the Credit River just west of Toronto has be spared from the wrecking ball.

Earlier this year, the province shortlisted three construction teams to either tear down and replace the more than 80-year-old structure in Mississauga, Ont., or rehabilitate it, but had not decided on which route it would take. After weighing public feedback, the province said Dec. 18 it has elected to repair the bridge, as well as build a new span just upstream.

“Our government has listened to the people of Mississauga and we will only seek bids that involve the preservation and rehabilitation of the existing Credit River bridge on the QEW,” Kinga Surma, Ontario’s associate minister of Transportation, said in a release. “We will be moving forward with rehabilitation of the bridge as announced in April.”

Located between the Hurontario Street and Mississauga Road exits on the QEW, some 200,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day.

The current bridge was widened to six lanes in 1959, while portions of the span date back to the mids-1930s. Recent investigations have found the heritage property is in need of significant repairs if it’s to remain in use. The distinctive appearance of the open-spandrel arch bridge, which is made predominantly of concrete, prompted local groups and politicians to mobilize to save the structure this fall.

While the latest announcement will preserve the bridge, a new bridge will also be built just north to allow for upgrades to the busy stretch of highway.

Infrastructure Ontario said earlier this year it expects to pick a construction consortium to take on the project by next summer.