All of today’s photos come from reader submissions…
The first set is from Luc, who sent along a few progress photos of the new Walker Road underpass.
Work is progressing nicely. Maybe someone who understands the project (I’m looking at our local railfans) can explain to us what we’re seeing.
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
The next set of photos comes from cpike, who sent along a few “in progress” photos of the work on the Walker & Wyandotte underpass.
Thanks to both of you for the photos.
i sent you a couple photos tonight to show how the old part of the ford foundry is in the dark now. i will send you some better quality ones soon.
Did they just fill in around the underpass superstructure?
I think I sense a future archaeology dig! Yes Douglasm, it seems that they did just backfill around the old archways, possibly lopping to tops off when they poked up too high.
I wonder in if in a thousand years some alien race will notice these and wonder what building it belonged to?
Thanks for the interesting pictures.
There are several buried lost bridges here in Toronto. It’s somewhat comforting to know they’re down below.
Chris…….
….the first thing I thought of when I saw that picture was that David Macaulay should see this, the “Viaduct Of The Mysteries”. BTW, if you’ve never read his “Motel Of The Mysteries” or “Great Moments in Architecture”, do so. Great fun.
Nice shots from the 5th floor patio Luc 😉
I’m the engineer responsible for the Walker Road project for the Ministry od Transportation, so I can give you some information on what is happening in the pictures.
Refering to the top picture, you can see 3 big holes where work is underway. The hole to right (directly in front of the hydro tower) is for the pumping station that is needed to provide drainage to the roadway that will go under the railway when the work is complete. Quite a bit of work has already been completed on this structure.
You can see the steel sheet piles in the other 2 holes. The sheet piling is needed to support the rail line while the bridge is being built. The rail line was diverted to the south to allow the bridge to be placed in the original location of the rail line. These are the location where the footings for the new bridge are being constructed. In the hole to the left, the footing has been completed for the east bridge abutment. In the centre hole, you can see a machine driving the piles that will support the footing for the west abutment(the piles are driven to the top of bedrock).
Once the footings are complete, the abutment walls will be built on top of the footings, then the steel bridge will be placed on top of the abutment walls.
In the third picure, you can see two excavators (one on top and one down in the excavation) removing earth in the general area of the Walker Road/Grand Marais intersection. The earth is loaded into trucks and removed from the construction site. In the background you see the pile driver working on the west footing piles, and in the foreground you can see the top of a section of concrete storm sewer pipe. The storm sewers will carry water to the pumping station.
Work is proceeding on schedule for this project, thanks to the good work of Coco Paving, and Dillon Consulting’s Windsor office, who are our on-site representatives.
I would encourage everyone to stay out of the construction site. If anyone wants to see the work up close, there is a temporary pedestrian railway crossing on Turner (one street west of Walker) from which you can see the work very well.
Thanks Steve for explaining to us what we are looking at.
I would think that it doesn’t need to be said, but staying out of the construction site is a priority. The previous shots I posted from the south were taken out of the construction zone with a zoom lens, and the shots above were taken from a secured location at a neighbouring property.
Please stay of those areas, and pay attention to the signs posted around the job site.