Century old steel bridge set to be torn down in Creemore

A century old steel bridge in Creemore, Ont. is set to be torn down and can be seen on Tuesday, July 14, 2015. (KC Colby/ CTV Barrie)

After more than a century of service, a steel bridge in Creemore will be torn down and replaced in the coming weeks.

Barry Burton lives down the street from the 102-year-old bridge in Creemore that was designed in 1913 by a Clearview resident and built by Simcoe County contractors.

“It represents our past, our heritage and the ingenuity that our forefathers had,” he says.

Burton admits the bridge needed repair and approached the County of Simcoe to take over ownership of the bridge.  Burton's group had plans drawn up to restore the old bridge – all for substantially less than the $2.2 million budget to tear down and build a new bridge.

“Simcoe County offered to transfer the ownership of the Collingwood Street bridge to Clearview Township for $934, 000,” says Pamela Fettes, Clearview Township clerk. “Clearview council met on April 29 and rejected the offer.”

Burton says one of the reasons Clearview council rejected the offer was because some thought it was too much of a financial risk. So now a new cement bridge, which will include some of the old bridge, will be built by the county.

“The trusses on the end of the bridge will actually be removed , sand blasted, cleaned up, repainted and then remounted on the new bridge, really to preserve the heritage character of the original bridge,” says Debbie Korolnek, planner for the County of Simcoe.

“The new bridge is fantastic. It will improve sightlines with two lanes, a new bridge that will be constructed and built and service the community in Clearview and everybody that uses it for the next 75 years,” says Gerry Marshall, Warden of Simcoe County.

Demolition of the old bridge is set to begin later this week and the community will not have to wait too long before they have a bridge in place. In fact, the new bridge is set to be completed in just four months.