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    1. Rail
    2. Infrastructure

    Historic Rouge River bridge to get new lease on life for GO Transit expansion

    Sept. 21, 2021
    Metrolinx is rehabilitating one of the oldest rail bridges in East Toronto in order to run more GO Train service in the decades to come.
    Related To: Metrolinx
    Metrolinx
    Metrolinx 614a09029c0ec

    Metrolinx will rehabilitate the Rouge River bridge, allowing the agency to ramp up GO service in the months and years to come.    

    Connecting Toronto and Pickering and spanning the mouth of the Rouge River, the 117-year-old Rouge River bridge is an important part of the Lakeshore East GO Line. The Lakeshore East GO Line is the second busiest route on the GO Network and is only getting busier. 

    The bridge was originally slated for full replacement as part of the larger GO Expansion project, but since the bridge is listed as a provincial heritage property, Metrolinx decided to rehabilitate the bridge instead of replacing it.   

    The bridge’s structure has heritage value because of its ashlar stone masonry substructure and steel deck truss superstructure. This means the stone supports the bridge on either side of the river, and the steel structure supports the train tracks that run across the bridge. The bridge is just one of a few remaining railway bridges in Toronto and its surrounding area that features this characteristic early railway bridge construction.  

    The rehabilitation work is starting this fall and will extend the life of the Rouge River bridge by another 20 years.   

    The scope of the project includes:   

    • Repairs to the bridge’s superstructure (the part of the bridge that carries the load from one side to the other), including blast cleaning and coating all structural steel and steel surfaces, and repairing, strengthening and replacing the structural steel members that are used to support the bridge’s structure.  
    • Repairs to the bridge’s substructure (the structure on either side at the base of the bridge that supports the superstructure), including masonry stone repairs for the abutments and piers, crack injections and concrete patch repairs, grout repairs at the approach span bearing pedestals and bearing replacement.  
    • Replacing timber deck ties, track and relocating and protecting existing communication utilities. The deck of the bridge is the actual bridge surface that is used for the train crossing.   
    • The bridge approaches, which are the parts that provides the transition between the railway corridor and bridge, will have a new approach slab (the part of the bridge that ensures a smooth transition from roadway to bridge) added, retaining walls replaced, as well as 25 meters (82 feet) of track on each side replaced.