Blackfriars Bridge
 

So the original estimate has doubled to ~$8M.

As usually the case; the estimate process is like throwing darts at a spinning board with random numbers on it.

http://www.lfpress.com/2017/08/29/blackf...ill-extend-spans-life-says-city-engineer

I don't like this idea. I think it should have been a new bridge with 2 way traffic and keep the original as a pedestrian bridge. Even if that idea would have cost a bit more at least I feel we would get more bang for the buck. Just my opinion though.

That's what I would rather see as well keep the bridge as a pedestrian/bike only bridge and a new vehicle one beside it.

I think this is a good idea - create a new bridge for vehicles and shift the existing bridge to the side to function as a pedestrian facility.

This way the city wouldn't need to continuously repair the original bridge and traffic in the area could flow a bit more easily. I personally have found the Blackfriars bridge to be a quick and convenient (and almost traffic-free) way to access the downtown core.

This whole project has been a complete farce and has been bungled by the city. IMO it would have been best to build a new bridge and connect Blackfriars to Central Ave, creating a new east-west briver crossing.

But even if they wanted to keep the anachronistic Ridout-Blackfriars crossing build a new bridge that will last! Instead were getting an expensive refurb of an outdated and inadequate bridge which I'm sure will be out of commission yet again when an overweight vehicle goes over it.

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Rehabilitating yet again a bridge as old as this and expecting it to carry all manner of pedestrian and vehicular traffic strikes me as rather stupid. It looks like the city are going to simply build a modern bridge and then use the still-viable parts of the original bridge as decoration.

Sometimes the city has a bad habit of hanging on to heritage artifacts that are no longer capable of being restored to any level of viability, all in an effort to get the heritage activists to shut up. Or they resort to constructing an ersatz version of the original that ends up looking rather tasteless, viz., the now-Budweiser Gardens/former JLC. Again to placate the axe-grinders.

I think trying to put a 2 way traffic bridge there would be a huge waste of money. It would cost several times what this one is going to cost and all it will do is funnel traffic onto Wharncliffe that could otherwise just as easily get there by crossing at Queens. What's it been, 10 years now or something that it's been closed? I don't think many people have missed it. Let's not forget that the east approach to the bridge won't meet current roadway standards, so trying to align that angle would be hugely expensive, which is why rebuilding the old bridge makes sense.

The last time I drove across the bridge was, as far as I recall, November of 2012, when I was in 4th year university. I seem to remember it being open to vehicular traffic in April of 2013, but then closed later in the summer. So my guess is that it was closed between May and July of 2013. Not exactly the recent past. But, with all due respect to Pink Floyd, we have not exactly woken up to find ten years has got behind us. Insofar as building another crossing goes, London has a serious shortage of river crossings as it stands, so having another crossing midway cannot hurt. I know I was always very frustrated trying to get downtown in the morning, because your choices are a) Oxford catastrophe or b) Riverside boondoggle

But this bridge is pretty special; it's a bowstring truss. As far as I know, there are very, very few of these anywhere in the world. Using bits of the truss as decoration on a modern bridge would be tacky and an affront to the historical value of the original structure. Also, the "heritage activists" have nothing to do with this since the bridge is protected under the Ontario Heritage Act, not the Minutes of the Fifth General Meeting of the London Heritage Ragtag Team.

Keep the Classic Old Bridge for pedestrians leading to trails and build a new one beside it with two way traffic for cars. Call it a year. Use the money from the Springbank dam, and let the river flow free.

Bridge to be lifted out by end of Nov. and taken away to be refurbished. Apparently some special cranes will be brought in to do this job.

Crane is now on site for lift on Monday.

http://www.london.ca/newsroom/Pages/BlackfriarsBridgeLift.aspx

Livestream of Blackfriars Bridge being split in half & removed

https://www.facebook.com/AM980London/vid...f_id=1511806938558528&notif_t=live_video

I've missed it since it was a good quick link for commuters between downtown and the university. During morning rush hour Oxford is a traffic nightmare and Riverside isn't much better.

Agreed. Blackfriars helped take some of the strain off Oxford & Queens/Dundas. IMO a new bridge connecting Blackfriars to Central would have been the best long term solution. This rehab of an obsolete bridge is really for nostalgic purposes than practicality. How long until it's out of commission when it's replaced?

Connecting Central would be several times the cost of what this current plan is going to cost. Aside from the actual cost of a new bridge, there is quite the elevation change in a short distance that would have to be taken care of, which I'm sure would involve the demolition of most of the properties west of Talbot and a huge excavation. I would say those are resources better spent elsewhere. I'm not an emotional guy about old stuff in this town. But I just don't think Blackfriars is a place to spend a huge amount of dollars. This current plan is about as far as I would like to see this go, and I would have gone with not making the bridge open to any traffic.

The Central option was studied and was estimated to cost $16 million. The city picked the rehab option because it was deemed to be the least costly at $4 million yet has already doubled to $8 million. Who know what the final cost will be once they start disassembling the old bridge and find more issues!?

I understand Central Ave has quite a grade drop going west to Blackfriars, and there would be properties impacted, just would've been nice for the City to plan for the future than keep an antiqued bridge for nostalgic purposes. When Adelaide/CP underpass is done there's plans to realign Central to connect, be nice to have another alternate across downtown. Hell even a new bridge on the same alignment would be better.

I would agree there are better projects to invest/spend money on, but this is London where jack shit happens. We've needed another north side Thames crossing for ages (Gainsborough/Windermere, Sarnia/Huron) but the NIMBYs will piss and moan to high heavens. This would've alleviated Oxford somewhat.

Moot point now though, City has made its choice now, and we'll be getting here for the eventual cost overruns!

They started the reassembly of the bridge this week.

http://lfpress.com/news/local-news/piece...econstruction-begins?video_autoplay=true

From the City Facebook page

Take a look at the size of the crane currently parked on the west side of the #BlackfriarsBridge construction zone, which will lift the bridge back into place later this summer. Length of boom on crane is approximately 77 metres! #LdnOnt

https://scontent.fyto1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v...7f2e78ee801e0cd315d996d7d82f&oe=5C0F6298

https://www.facebook.com/LondonCanada/ph...310801/10156595291480802/?type=3&theater

Interesting interview on the project.

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/blackfriars-bridge?video_autoplay=true