The crumbling Disraeli Bridges

History has not been kind to the Disraeli Bridges.

In recent years some serious rot has been allowed to set in and a couple of large vehicles have driven into it which has required emergency closures, inspections, and repairs. Now, the debate is on at city hall to see what should replace it and how quickly it can be done.

Here's a look back at the bridges and the It took three decades of failed referenda, much political infighting, and even a natural disaster of near biblical proportions before it was built.

February 22, 1913, Manitoba Free Press

The first mention that I can find of a bridge at Disraeli Street is the "East Winnipeg Radial Commercial Highway" in the Manitoba Free Press of February 22, 1913.

The proposed highway would have taken traffic congestion off of Main Street by running from Portage Avenue and Main Street via Rorie Street to the existing Disraeli Street. The CPR tracks would be bypassed via a subway and a the river would be crossed with a bridge to connect Disraeli Street and Kelvin Road (now Henderson Highway).

The Radial Commercial Highway project never got of the ground.

November 1938, Winnipeg Free Press

The plan came back in the late 1930s. This map was published alongside a Free Press column by James Gray in November 1938. Gray obviously had faced some traffic woes the day he wrote the piece as the column opened:

"If Winnipeg originally had been laid out by surveyors instead of meandering cows, and if the pioneer urge to erect buildings in the most outlandish places had been squelched, Winnipeg would have little cause to worry about town planning today".

Gray would have to suffer the indignity of travelling the route for another decade as the "Kelvin-Disraeli Bridge" idea did not resurface until the late 1940s when the Metro Winnipeg Planning Commission released its first 'major thoroughfare plan' in 1947.

In January 1949, the city put the Kelvin-Disraeli Bridge project on the books and began the necessary planning. The final approval would be left up to voters in a money referendum.

It was during the final stages of the due diligence process for the Kelvin-Disraeli Bridge that the 1950 Red River flood intervened. Above is a flood photo of the area where the bridge now stands, (you can see the Rover Street Power Station near the top left.)

The city was faced with a massive repair bill for infrastructure damaged or destroyed in the flood and there was no appetite to take on new projects. The plan went back on the shelf.

October 25, 1955, Winnipeg Free Press

The Kelvin-Disraeli Bridge project was eventually revived and in October 1955 a money referendum to approve the borrowing of $4.9 million to build it was rejected at the polls. (It won slightly more than 50% of the vote but 60% was the mark needed.) The city tried again, unsuccessfully, in 1956. A third vote in 1958 proved the charm and the project got the go-ahead from voters. The second river span built in the city since 1917 was about to become reality.

There were two significant changes made to the project's original plan. First of all, it became two bridges rather than the originally envisioned subway under the tracks and bridge over the river

The approach route was also changed. Rather than travelling from Portage and Main via Rorie Street to the bridge approach, Main Street became the main entry point with a turn off at James Street. (The current Main Street and Alexander Avenue approach was not approved for construction until 1966.)

Roblin & Juba, Oct. 21, 1960 (Winnipeg Tribune Archives)

At 11:00 a.m. on October 21, 1960, mayor Juba of Winnipeg and mayor Suttie of East Kildonan walked with their respective councils from opposite ends of the structure to meet Premier Roblin in the middle for a ribbon-cutting. (The province paid the majority of the $5.5m price tag for the bridges.) A couple of changes were made to the bridge in the years after it opened. The first was adding the sweeping Main Street and Alexander Avenue approach in 1966. The other was replacing the metal grate decking with concrete in 1971.

Commemorative sign for the bridges

UPDATE: The bridge that took almost 30 years to get built will soon be coming down.

The Disraeli's future was decided at the September 24, 2008 council meeting. The option chosen was a $140 million pair of bridges the same size as the existing ones (1.1 km in length) that would reuse the existing pillars in the river portion. The site will be closed for 16 months while the bridges are rebuilt.

Update October 2009: Due to a campaign by neighbouring businesses and residents against the prolonged closure, the city and province reached an agreement to spend another $60m to allow part of the bridges to remain open throughout the construction period.

Update October 2012: The new Disraeli Bridges opened to traffic on  October 19, 2012. A ceremony was held on the grounds of Argyle Alternative High School for the $195 million project. An active transportation bridge east of the river portion of the bridge will open in 2013.

Related;
My photo album of the Disraeli Bridges

Disraeli Bridge Project City of Winnipeg
Deal reached on Disraeli bridge CBC News, Oct. 2009
Disraeli Bridge condition questioned CBC News, Jan. 2012
Disraeli Bridge not unsafe: city Winnipeg Free Press, Jan. 2012
Disraeli set for Demolition over weekend CBC, June 2012
New Disraeli Bridge opens CBC News Oct. 2012
Disraeli Bridges Active Transportation Bridge now open City of Winnipeg

Weekend Update - I Love Manitoba (5) The Airport

I was closer to home this weekend and thought I would check out the new and old airports.

The J.A.R. is coming along nicely. You can get a real sense of what it's going to look like. This led me back to the old WAA. The tired, old lady staring wearily across the tarmac at the upstart that will cause her demise ! Before I get to her, though, here is a bit of Winnipeg's airport history....

Stevenson Field c 1928 (rareaviationphotos.com)

Winnipeg's first "official" airport came about in 1928 when the Winnipeg Flying Club opened Stephenson Aerodrome in the R.M. of St. James.

Stevenson Aerodrome (click for source information)

When Trans Canada Airlines was created in the 1930s, the airport was simply a section of the Trans Canada Airline hangar in St. James.

Stevenson Aerodrome (click for source information)

In December 1952, a special-built passenger addition was made to the hangar, with a decidedly bus depot look. In 1958 the name was changed from Stevenson Aerodrome to Winnipeg International Airport at the request of the Federal Government.

Winnipeg Int'l Airport ca. late 50s (click for source information)

As the popularity of air travel grew, a new custom built airport was needed. Construction on the current WAA, designed by Green Blankstein Russell and Associates, was constructed form 1960 to 1964.

Opening Ceremonies, January 1964

Winnipeg International Airport 1969

As with many airports, Winnipeg's underwent a number of changes over the years that removed some of its original sleek lines with add-ons to the interior and exterior. The most extensive of the alterations was in 1984.

In my mind, it is still a really interesting building and I shall miss it. Here are some of the pics I took today.

Finally, what will happen to the art ?! Presumably it will not be going to the new airport.

The airport has had a fair bit of funky art in it's time. I don't remember this, for instance:

Solar Cone by Gerald Gladstone

These, of course, are still with us:

Mosaic tile mural by John Graham

 

 
Structuralist relief mural by Eli Bornstein

Historic Winnipeg Films !

Tonight I went to the Premier of Souvenirs by Paula Kelly. It's a series of three short films, each 6 to 10 minutes in length.

Kelly has been the artist in residence at the City of Winnipeg Archives for the past 6 months and in that time compiled some very rare photographs and video of historic Winnipeg to create 3 short stories. You can read about them here.

On Friday the theatrical release will be held at 7 pm at Cinematheque and, in true Winnipeg style, admission is free !!

Souvenirs is followed by Don McKellar’s film Last Night.

Weekend Update: I Love Manitoba (4)

This weekend, it was a little closer to home.

A quick visit to the Refugee Camp in the Heart of the City set up by up by Médecins Sans Frontières at The Forks. A great way to start the weekend by realizing how lucky I am to live where I live.

Then, it was Rail Days at the Winnipeg Rail Museum.

My reason for being there had more to do with transit than trains. Streetcar 356, located in the Railway Museum museum, is one of my pet projects. It was great to see people come by the display with great stories from the streetcar era.

One gentleman I sat with was the last streetcar operator to retire from Winnipeg Transit. He had some great stories about the streetcars.

One was about the operators being responsible for building and stoking the fire in the car's stove before they went on their run.

On a really cold morning you wanted to see an older, experienced looking face coming at you in the front window as there was better chance that they had mastered the cantankerous stoves to create maximum warmth, (which was still pretty minimal when it was -30 outside). A young, fresh face usually meant you were in for a cold, miserable ride to work!

For more on the streetcar project check out the Winnipeg Streetcar website. I think the Free Press, too, will have a story on it in Monday's paper.

Another piece of transit history on display was courtesy of the Manitoba Transit Heritage Association. They brought out their 1937 Twin Coach #111 and it was quite the attraction.

Radio Gaga and the Bygone Corner Store

I've always loved spoken radio shows – variety, documentaries and, especially, dramas. I think I'd prefer it to television if the selection of programming was there. Thankfully, there are still some public broadcasters like the BBC that keep up great radio drama programming.

Community radio is more about music and short interviews but I noticed, belatedly, that CKUW has entered the radio drama genre !

"At the Monarchs Convenience", set in the West End, has been on the air since April 2008. Rick is the prickly proprietor of an old-style neighbourhood convenience store and the quirky selection of residents and business owners that come through his doors make up the rest of the show’s characters.

The show is quite good. and an interesting combination of two old-time institutions: radio drama and the corner store.

- At the Monarchs Convenience airs Mondays at 5:30 on CKUW or see the above link for webcasts.

- For a bit of Winnipeg corner store nostalgia check out the NFB’s Ted Baryluk's Grocery available on-line !

Weekend Update: I Love Manitoba (3)

This weekend it was Teulon / Inwood area, the reason why is below. En route, however... All Saints Victoria Anglican Church near Stonewall, a provincial heritage site:

It was then through Teulon. I stopped briefly at the museum, which was closed, but got shots of the outdoor displays.

Then, finally to the reason behind the trip: the hamlet of Polson, Manitoba to check out Winnipeg Streetcar 680 that has been sitting in a pasture perhaps since 1955 when the streetcar system was disbanded. (For more about that event, check out my previous post on Streetcar 356.)

The streetcar was found but there was a problem, or rather dozens of them. It was in a pasture full of cattle!

I've been around cattle before and found that they usually range from being apathetic to skittish when people are around but this herd was loud and extremely curious so, sadly, close-ups of the streetcar were not in the cards. (You can check out buflyer's close-ups as he went there once when the cows were in another pasture).

And, of course, Polson !