footbridge-vs-humans

The replacement bridge did not last as long as Mayor Hill had hoped. On August 14th, 1941, a mere five years after its repair, the cables of the bridge broke and the structure dropped to the river bed, a moment captured on camera by a member of the Lazier family:

The Ontario Intelligencer of the following day reported that:  

Citizens who had passed over the bridge only a few moments before it crashed into the river, told police that three boys had ridden bicycles across the bridge in a zig-zag manner causing it to swing and sway at a dangerous angle, which is believed may have contributed to the breaking of the cables.

[Report in The Ontario Intelligencer, 15 August 1941]

As it was wartime, there was doubt about whether it would be possible to replace the steel cables of the bridge.  Instead of a suspension bridge, the footbridge was replaced with a concrete structure. While the new bridge was built, a temporary wooden bridge was constructed at a cost of $600, shared between the City and Front Street businesses. By February 1942, the new bridge was open and the temporary structure was removed. Steel handrails were installed in March 1942 and in July the bridge received its finishing touch: a coat of white paint:

City Footbridge Being Completed.
The city footbridge is taking on a new and finished appearance these days with employees of the Blyth Construction Company, Toronto, applying a whitening coat to the rough concrete surface of the archway and then brushing the surface with a powered brush to give a smooth white finish.
The work is being done in accordance with the company's contract with the city which called for the application of the finish coat of cement to give the bridge a white appearance.

[Report in The Ontario Intelligencer, 3 July 1942]

The concrete bridge lasted much longer than the 1936 bridge it replaced: it gradually decayed over the years and was finally closed to pedestrians in 2018 after 76 years of use.

 [Photo of footbridge in August 1975 by Cyril Sharp CABHC: 2012-28-02-04]

Demolition of this concrete footbridge began in July 2021. The replacement bridge is due to open in September 2022, at a total cost of just over $2.9 million.