Mayor John Tory officially opened the Garrison Crossing today with the help of local City Councillors Joe Cressy and Mike Layton, with representatives of CreateTO and Dufferin Construction.
Led by CreateTO on behalf of the City of Toronto, the stainless steel bridge project is the first of its kind in Canada. The Garrison Crossing pedestrian and cycle bridge creates a vital connection, offering a new passage to the waterfront while improving networks within the surrounding communities.
Garrison Crossing is two bridge structures spanning two rail corridors in the downtown core. The 52-metre northern bridge structure spans from the South Stanley Park extension over the Kitchener rail corridor and lands on the north side of Ordnance Triangle Park. The 49-metre southern bridge structure spans from the south side of Ordnance Triangle Park over the Lakeshore West rail corridor, landing in the grounds of the Fort York National Historic Site.
The construction of Garrison Crossing was managed by the Dufferin Construction Company, which was selected through a competitive evaluation process. Pedelta, a structural engineering firm, was selected to design the bridge as a member of the Dufferin Construction Company team. Pedelta was aided by DTAH and a number of other design firms.
Construction began in the fall of 2016 and is now complete. Through strong vision and collaboration, this project brings together the strength and expertise of municipal partners and the private sector. The crossing’s bridges and trails will be maintained by the City’s Transportation Services and Parks, Forestry and Recreation divisions.
The City of Toronto and CreateTO will host an official community celebration for the crossing in late October.
Quotes:
“I’m proud to officially open this important piece of active transportation infrastructure that will connect key downtown communities. This stainless steel bridge project – the first of its kind in Canada – shows the progress our City is making when we work together with CreateTO and the private sector to get things done for our residents.”
– Mayor John Tory
“Garrison Crossing is a critical city-building initiative for our growing downtown. It will create a vital connection from the Fort York and Waterfront neighbourhoods to communities north of the rail corridor.”
– Councillor Joe Cressy (Ward 10 Spadina-Fort York)
“I’m proud to see that the hard work by our partners and the support from the community for the project has helped bring us to our where we are today. This new pedestrian and cycling link will allow for new transportation routes and will connect our parks and greenspaces for all Toronto residents.”
– Councillor Mike Layton (Ward 11 University-Rosedale)
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