CR-79 Bridge

Most Recent Visit: June 5th, 2006

This awesome bridge reminds me of some of the massive truss bridges in Pennsylvania! I learned about this bridge after sending a letter to Lambton County Public Works asking about truss bridges. The connections are riveted, and would lead me to believe that this bridge was built in the late thirties. However, Lambton County gave a date of 1957 for this bridge. I guess Ontario realized that truss bridges were better than ugly beam bridges, and continued with truss construction longer than Michigan. The bridge does not have v-lacing on vertical and diagonal members, which is characteristic of a newer truss bridge. The top chord has v-lacing on the underside, however, and some of the sway bracing, and portal bracing is v-laced. This road used to be under the jurisdiction of the province, and was Kings Highway 79. A provincial downloading transferred the road, as well as this bridge to the county. The road is now signed as Lambton County 79.

I approached this bridge from the South, and the experience was one of those exciting events since the bridge pops into view suddenly as you round a large curve.

When I first visited the bridge in August of 2004, it was in good condition, but Lambton County had told me that renovations were planned. A June 5, 2006 visit revealed that these renovations had taken place, and indeed patch work was being finished up on the abutments. Unfortunately, the original metal railings have been replaced with modern New Jersey barriers which are not very visually appealing. On the other hand, I am glad to see that this bridge is not going to be going anywhere for a while. I have photos from before and after the renovations available in the photo gallery, although the weather during my 2006 visit was much better than in 2004.