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Prince Edward Viaduct
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The Prince Edward Viaduct System is the name of a Truss arch bridge system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that connects Bloor Street East, on the west side of the system, with Danforth Avenue on the east. The Don Valley phase of the system, more commonly known as the Bloor Street Viaduct, The Bloor Viaduct or simply The Viaduct, spans the Don River Valley, crossing over (from east to west) the Don Valley Parkway, the Don River, and Bayview Avenue Extension.
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Encyclopedia
The Prince Edward Viaduct System is the name of a Truss arch bridge system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that connects Bloor Street East, on the west side of the system, with Danforth Avenue on the east. The Don Valley phase of the system, more commonly known as the Bloor Street Viaduct, The Bloor Viaduct or simply The Viaduct, spans the Don River Valley, crossing over (from east to west) the Don Valley Parkway, the Don River, and Bayview Avenue Extension. The Don Valley phase is the best known.
The Prince Edward Viaduct system also includes the Rosedale Valley phase (a smaller bridge carrying Bloor Street over the Rosedale Ravine and refer to as Rosedale Valley Bridge) and the Sherbourne Phase, an embankment built to extend Bloor Street East to the Rosedale Ravine from approximately Sherbourne Street. It was designed by John B. Parkin and Associates with Delcan Cater & Co. and completed in 1966.
The Bloor Street-Rosedale Valley Bridge is the western extension of the Prince Edward Viaduct. The bridge, officially known as the Rosedale Valley Phase of the Prince Edward Viaduct System, runs west of the Bloor Street Viaduct and ends west of Parliament Street. The bridge stone work is similar to the Bloor Street Viaduct and another bridge on O'Connor Drive (over Taylor Creek) to the east of the Don River.
The roadway has five lanes (three westbound and two eastbound) with a bike lane in each direction. The subway level connects Broadview Station in the east with Castle Frank Station in the west.
Design
Designed by Edmund W. Burke, the Prince Edward Viaduct is a three hinged concrete-steel arch bridge, with a total span of 494 metres at 40 metres above the Don Valley. The bridge consists of a deck, made up of transverse beams and I-girders, which transfer load to column supports. The column supports then transfer the load to the trusses within the arches, which transfer the load to the arches themselves. Finally, the arches transfer their load through large hinges, which transfer load to a concrete pillar, and eventually to the ground.
In addition to the Don River, the Don Valley Parkway, and Bayview Avenue, a major railway line (serving the Richmond Hill line operated by GO Transit), electrical transmission line, and bicycle trail all pass under the bridge spans.
History
Construction
Referendums on the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct were held in Toronto in every year from 1910 to 1913, with residents voting against its construction in 1912 by 59 votes and in favour in 1913 by 9236 votes. The projected cost of its construction increased from C$759,000 in 1910 to C$2.5 million in 1913; its final cost was C$2,480,349.05 (~C$36 million in 2005 dollars when adjusted for inflation). Upon its completion in 1918, it was named for the Prince of Wales, later Edward VIII.
It was designed to facilitate mass transit; its upper deck accommodated trams, while both the Don Valley phase and the Rosedale Valley phase included a lower deck for rail transport, controversial at the time because of its high additional cost. The bridge's designer, Edmund Burke, was able to have his way, and the lower deck eventually proved to save millions of dollars when the Toronto Transit Commission's Bloor-Danforth subway, opened in 1966, was able use the Don Valley phase with no major structural changes to cross the Don River Valley. (The Rosedale Valley phase was not used, as the curve between each phase - as well as the curve to the west at Parliament Street - was considered too sharp for the subway; a separate bridge was built over Rosedale Valley west of the Castle Frank Subway Station at the west end of the Bloor-Danforth Viaduct).
Growth of Toronto
The Prince Edward Viaduct has had two major impacts on the development of Toronto as a city. First, the construction of the Prince Edward Viaduct resulted in more rapid development of those portions of Toronto lying on the east side of the Don Valley. Secondly, the construction of the Bloor-Danforth line of the Toronto Transit Commission's subway system in the 1960s was significantly facilitated by the viaduct architect's decision to have a lower deck on the bridge.
Suicide
A magnet for suicide
At the time of the construction of the viaduct, suicide was not considered to be a major social issue, and as such the bridge design did not include any means for the prevention of suicides. As suicide became more prevalent in society, and with an increase in the city population, the Prince Edward Viaduct became a magnet for suicide, as people could easily jump over its short railings. This not only posed a risk to the lives of the jumpers, but also to the traffic underneath, which was in danger of being hit by a falling body.
With over 400 suicides, the Viaduct ranked as the second most fatal standing structure in the world, after the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. A 1997 report from the Schizophrenia Society of Ontario cited the average of "one person jumping from the bridge every 22 days". However, over its 79 year lifespan to that date, the bridge actually averaged only one suicide every 72 days (79 x 365/400). After years of controversy, the bridge's reputation as a "suicide magnet" eventually led to the construction of a suicide barrier called the Luminous Veil. The bridge has had zero suicides since the construction of this suicide barrier. The Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal, Quebec is now the leading site for suicides in Canada.
The Luminous Veil
Designed by architect Derek Revington and engineers at Halcrow Yolles, and completed in 2003 at the cost of C$5.5 million, the Luminous Veil consists of over 9,000 steel rods, 12.7cm apart and 5m high, stretched to cantilevered girders to function as a suicide barrier. At the same time as the construction of the Luminous Veil, the bridge also underwent a renovation with the water proofing and concrete deteriorations being replaced. While awaiting approval of the barrier and during construction, which was subject to numerous delays, 48 to 60 suicides took place at the bridge. Since completion of the barrier, there have been no suicides.
Structural art
The Prince Edward Viaduct is a structurally symmetric bridge, an artistic aspect that is appreciated by people. Its black arches contrast its beige concrete piers in a manner that exposes their intricacies. The Luminous Veil has been regarded as a great contribution to structural art, as it is not only functional, but aesthetically pleasing as well, and it received the 1999 Canadian Architect Award of Excellence.
Appearance in popular culture
- The construction of the bridge was used as a setting for the historical fiction of Michael Ondaatje's novel In the Skin of a Lion.
- A scene from the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse was filmed on the Viaduct.
- The song War On Drugs by the Barenaked Ladies was inspired by, and refers to, the Viaduct.
- The humorous song Anything could happen by Bruce Cockburn opens with "You could have gone off the Bloor Street Viaduct".
- The bridge plays a key role in the play In Gabriel's Kitchen by Salvatore Antonio, which is set before construction of the Luminous Veil.
- In a Degrassi Junior High episode titled Dog Days, the character Stephanie Kaye contemplates jumping off the Viaduct to commit suicide. Her brother Arthur later talks her out of it.
- In the Spoons music video for "Romantic Traffic", lead singer Gordon Deppe looks out from the Viaduct as the TTC subway train he is in passes through it.
- The film Saint Monica, set in Toronto, prominently features the Viaduct.
- The song "National Hum" by The Constantines refers to the construction of the Luminous Veil: "Your mayor is raising fences to keep bodies off the Don Valley Parkway."
See also
External links
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