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| Bridge is closed. To open in May? |
In January I blogged about the status of the walkway/bridge replacement project that links E.T. Seton Park and the West Don parklands with the rest of the Don trail system. The prognosis back then was that the new walkway would be installed by early March. Sadly that is not the case. The walkway is partially installed but not linked up. It looks like decking still needs to installed in the metal frame as well as the bridge across the railway tracks. It appears that the bridge itself will not be replaced only the decking on top will be replaced. Signs on the bridge now say that the project will be completed by May 2013.
This project which started back which started last August has now lasted 7 months and is still counting. Work is proceeding at what looks like a glacial pace. Project management is obviously not one of the Parks departments strong suits. If we're lucky it will be open by August.
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| Metal walkway in process of being installed. Parts are not yet linked together |
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| New walkway has metal bottom and sides. It looks like there will be some sort of wooden decking. |
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| Despite fencing and signs, trail users are still scrambling through the construction site. |
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| The good news is that the Lower Don Trail is now completely free of ice. |
9 comments:
There used to be info on this project on the City's Cycling pages but I can no longer find any there. Does anyone know a definite opening date??
After saying May 12th for a few weeks it is now "end of May" so one might expect mid-June!
I received this message courtesy of Dan Egan:
The contractor mobilized back on site on Monday, March 18th. All eight steel walkway sections have been delivered and temporarily bolted into place. This task was completed on April 2nd. The steel subcontractor will be anchoring the walkway structure permanently into place over the next week. This work is scheduled to be complete by April 19th. The installation of the new anti-slip metal decking and upgrades to the railings on the existing Bailey bridge over the CNR rail line are scheduled to be complete by April 30th. Final asphalting of the pathway approaches and steel walkway sections is scheduled to take place the week of May 6th. The new walkway and Bailey bridge are scheduled to be substantially complete and open to the public by Friday, May 10th weather permitting.
Parks, Forestry & Recreation continue to work with our partners in Cycling Infrastructure to communicate updates to the public. Signage has been posted on both approaches to the bridge informing the public that the Bailey bridge will be closed for upgrades till the middle of May. A further update will be provided the week of April 29th.
Ah! I commented on your January post but now see this one and your last comment-wonder if it now is done...
This is an update I received from the project manager...
"I am providing you with an update on the E.T. Seton Park Elevated Walkway. Unfortunately, poor soil conditions have been encountered that will require that the concrete footings supporting the new steel structure be further reinforced. The walkway and Bailey bridge will be closed until the end of May 2013. Updated signage is being posted today and early next week in Sunnybrook Park, E.T.Seton Park, Taylor Creek Park and down the Lower Don Trail to inform the public that the walkway is closed till the end of May."
I ran through there today. Still not done but runners and cyclists were crossing the tracks and crossing nonetheless.
FYI as of today a tall gate has been chained and padlocked into place blocking people from crawling through a hole in the fence on the South side of the tracks, so unless you're okay with throwing your bike over a lower part of the fence to the East and crawling over you'll probably have to find another way. (Such as the shoulders of Don Mills up the hill or the mountain biking trail on the North side of the Don.)
Should be open this weekend
http://torontoist.com/2013/05/for-don-valley-cyclists-its-pedals-on-the-metal/
From the City:
Paving of the walkway and the western approach from the E.T. Seton Park parking lot was completed last night. The contractor has removed the construction fencing this morning and has opened the walkway to the public three days ahead of schedule. The contractor will be hydro seeding and staking the erosion blanket out underneath the walkway today and correcting some minor deficiencies over the next week.
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