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Note that this bridge is located in the town of St. Marys, which is in the County of Perth, in southwestern Ontario. It should not be confused with the town of Perth in eastern Ontario, which a website visitor commented is also known for stone buildings like St. Marys.
St. Marys is a town that seems to value its history. Many restored or well cared for stone buildings can be found in the town. This bridge may not be made of stone, but it seems to fit right into the town anyway with its historic design, providing a gorgeous crossing for Water Street. Although not officially designated a heritage structure St. Marys has in the past taken decent care of this bridge. They have attempted to maintain its historic appearance whenever possible during repairs as well. For instance, the cantilevered sidewalks were replaced at some point in the past. However, what appears to be the original lattice railings were placed on the new sidewalk. This is a very photogenic bridge, and it is easy to get any angle of this bridge you want.
The Water Street Bridge is a seven panel pin connected Pratt through truss bridge. Pin connected structures are quite rare in Ontario, so this is a significant bridge for the region. As mentioned, lattice railings remain on the cantilevered sidewalks. There is v-lacing present on the vertical members. The portal bracing is an a-frame design. The bridge is seated on stone abutments made of the stone that can be found all over St. Marys.
Despite the above mentioned apparent interest in heritage found in St. Mary's this bridge was closed to traffic in 2013 due to deterioration and abuse of weight limits.
As of December 2013, a Heritage Impact Assessment was completed and this report fortunately confirmed the obvious which is that this bridge is a heritage bridge and should be added to the Ontario Heritage Bridge List. It recommended rehabilitation for the bridge, which is good, but this was merely the recommendation of a secondary consultant hired by the primary consultant to assess the heritage of the bridge, so it was not a sure thing that this bridge was safe.
Fortunately, rehabilitation was indeed the outcome for this, representing an outstanding preservation of this bridge, which can now continue to be a landmark for the community for years to come! Rehabilitation was completed in 2016 by McLean Taylor, which by chance has offices right next to the bridge.
Above: Completed Rehabilitation in 2016. Photo Courtesy Vicki Inchley, McLean Taylor Construction Ltd.
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