After only 80 years of service (most of it with obviously little maintenance) the College Avenue Bridge’s days are numbered. Built in 1927 (and crumbling for years) so that the streetcar could run west along College (then called Field Ave.) over the Michigan Central Rail Cut. It was closed by the city and is today only accessible on foot or on a bike.
Huge chunks of the bridge are crumbling away on the railings…
…and on the sidewalks.
Chain link fencing was erected, closing the sidewalks off to pedestrians, who are now routed across the roadway.
A view of the bridge over the tracks leading to the rail tunnel.
The photo above ran in the Border Cities Star, October 7, 1927:
The Span shown above crosses the Michigan Central tunnel approach at a point where Field avenue is to be cut through when the necessary formalities for taking over a number of houses now standing on the proposed street extension are completed.
The bridge is done entirely in reinforced concrete, and plans for it were drawn by the Hydro Electric Power Commission of Ontario, the contractor being Ernest Clark.
It will carry a double track trolley line, a wide roadway and two sidewalks, and will, when the street is cut through to Wellington Avenue, afford an outlet to a rapidly developing section of Windsor lying south of Wyandotte Street and west of the M.C.R. tracks.
A great example of what happens when cities neglect infastructure.
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Are there any plans to replace this bridge? It 'seems' to have been conspicuously missing from the recent infrastructure announcements - or I've just missed it myself. It's an embarrassment now for College to be chopped up like that.
I wonder how neglected the bridge would have been if there were still streetcars passing by? If the streetcars were there, Ill bet the areas they would have serviced would still be thriving, and more attention would have been paid to the bridge. Anyways, the rumor that I have heard is that they are postponing work on the bridge because it may not be tall enough should CP rail expand the rail tunnel to accommodate double stacked rail cars. (which would take many trucks off the roads, and reduce pollution and oil consumption a great deal!) Also, I have heard that there were ideas floated around of VIA rail sharing this rail corridor and relocating the VIA rail station from Walkerville to somewhere on those tracks near Wyandotte (closer to downtown). Does anyone know more about this?
As far as I know, the city is waiting to spend any money on the bridge until they find out what CP/Borealis is going to do with the tunnel. As it stands now, I don't think that bridge is tall enough to accommodate double stacks and would have to be torn down/replaced should a new, larger tunned be bored.
CP/Borealis I believe is looking for government funding to assist them with the tunnel project. I think that it would be a good idea as, like JP said, it helps to get more trucks off the road.
Andrew do you know why it was changed to College? I don't believe there was ever a college on that street.
That makes sense, the part about the train cars and new height requirements. I think 80 years for a bridge is pretty good, especially when it was determined that a higher bridge would be needed in the future. I am sure rate payers wouldn't want to see money put into the bridge only to have it replaced in a year or two. I'm all for taking trucks off the road and back on the rails, it does reduce pollution and makes roads safer. I don't like those barreling 80,000 lb trucks on the 401 one bit.
ME - no idea. I'll hazard a guess that maybe it has something to do with Assumption College who owned all that land along Huron Church?
Looks like the road was a mess. It was called Field by Campbell (in Windsor), around Sunset & California (Sandwich West maybe?), it was called Davis, and west of Huron Church (Sandwich) it was called Hebert. Must have been renamed during amalgamation.
Interesting to note, I have a city map from 1937 that shows a proposed extension from Prince Road out to today's Ojibway Parkway.
I miss crossing that bridge !! I have withdrawls LOL ! It's pretty old but they need to start repairing it soon !! I think it will take 5 yrs before they finish it LOL!
Yes, I live a few doors down from the bridge, and I can send you some more pictures from the other side. It's really beat up. It's such a pain in the but now that it's closed. Although, normally it's no big deal for me being on a bike, as you can still walk or ride a bike across no problems.