South of the mid-rises on Front and Wellington, and north of the towers at CityPlace, the Bathurst Street Bridge spans a much longer stretch of Toronto history. First built in 1903—and moved to its current location in 1931—the the historic bridge is set to be rebuilt, with this month's RFP for engineering and construction studies advancing the City of Toronto's longstanding revitalization plans.

The bridge's Warren truss span as it appears now, image by Vik Pahwa

As part of the rehabilitation process, the heritage-designated truss span will be restored, while the remainder of the bridge to the south will be rebuilt. The new bridge will accommodate a streetcar right-of-way south of the rail corridor—in coordination with the TTC's plan to install new tracks in 2018—in the hopes of improving transit service to the growing CityPlace and Fort York communities. Sidewalks along the bridge will also be rebuilt, facilitating a safer pedestrian experience. During construction, the City has specified that one sidewalk and one lane of traffic in each direction will remain open.

The previous bridge in 1916, image courtesy of the City of Toronto Archives

Overlooking Fort York from the east, the steel bridge is one of the oldest in the city. First built as a steam railway bridge spanning the Humber River, the Warren truss structure was disassembled and moved to Bathurst Street in 1916, repurposing the expanded bridge for road traffic and replacing the earlier bridge seen in the image above. The bridge was then shifted to its current alignment in 1931 to facilitate streetcar service south of the railway tracks.

Looking east from the bridge, image by Marcus Mitanis

The plans call for a 30-year life cycle for the new structure, with the specific parameters of the rehabilitation process outlined in a November 2015 report. Following April 20th's deadline for submissions, a design assignment award is expected to be announced later this year, with the finalized tender scheduled for May of 2017.

We will keep you updated as the plans to rehabilitate the Bathurst Street Bridge continue to take shape over the coming months. In the meantime, feel free to share your thoughts by commenting in the space below this page, or by joining the ongoing conversation on our Forum.