Mississauga residents, council angry at Ontario government’s plan to demolish QEW heritage bridge

Thestar.com
Nov. 27, 2019
Steve Cornwell

Plans to demolish the QEW bridge over the Credit River have sparked anger from Mississauga residents and councillors.

The iconic bridge, which has large concrete arches and was built in 1934, was declared a heritage structure by the province in 2009. In 2013, an environmental assessment on the bridge’s future recommended building a new QEW bridge over the Credit River, and rehabbing the existing one.

But in October of this year, the Ministry of Transportation announced that it preferred to demolish and replace the heritage structure with new twinned bridges.

Dorothy Tomiuk of the Town of Port Credit Association (TOPCA) said the previous recommendation that left the heritage bridge in place was a “win-win-win” for the province, residents and the City of Mississauga.

While the province has an obligation to consult now that the plans have changed, Tomiuk believes the decision to demolish the bridge has already been finalized, and the government is just “checking a box.”

“It’s supposed to be yet again another round of consultations to look at all the impacts of destroying the bridge and replacing would have,” she said. “But all we’ve been given is a fait accompli decision that this is what they are going to do.”

The ministry and Infrastructure Ontario began to seek approvals for demolition and replacement of the Credit River bridge in March of 2019. The new option, according to materials from the ministry is easier to construct, has the lowest construction cost and can be widen in the future.

The QEW bridge over the Credit River was built in 1934 and could be demolished and replaced, according to Ministry of Transportation plans.

Mississauga-Lakeshore MPP Rudy Cuzzetto said in an email that the proposal to replace the bridge isn’t approved yet and the current bridge “has reached the end of its useful life.”

The 2013 report on the bridge said investigations suggest the 250-metre bridge was in “poor condition and in need of major repair.”

“Our final decision will be based on the evidence, and on the feedback we receive as part of this open and transparent process,” Cuzzetto said.

Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko said the process has not been transparent and knocking the bridge down would be demolishing part of Mississauga’s history.

“To me it’s a slippery slope,” he said. “If this is allowed to happen, what’s next?

Mississauga council passed a motion objecting to the bridge demolition at its Nov. 20 meeting. As part of the motion, Mayor Bonnie Crombie will send letters to local MPPs and Premier Doug Ford, “outlining the city’s strong objection” to the proposed replacement of the bridge.

Ward 2 Coun. Karen Ras called the proposed replacement a “wholesale change” at the Nov. 20 council meeting.

“I think people are going to be absolutely disgusted when they find out what’s being proposed,” she said.

Ward 11 Coun. George Carlson, who is also the chair of the city’s heritage committee, called the bridge a rare and “soaring example of Art Deco architecture” and said plans to knock down the structure would have consequences for other historic Ontario properties.

“It’s a 10 out of 10 for stupidity,” he said. “And basically, if the province is by disobeying its own rules, how do they expect hundreds and thousands of homeowners across the province to comply with the heritage requirements for their own houses that they own?”

In an email, ministry spokesperson Astrid Poei said “cost was a factor” in choosing demolition as the preferred option, but declined to discuss price estimates for repairing versus replacing the bridge.

“We are not able to discuss cost estimates as it could jeopardize the competitive procurement process that has just begun and harm our efforts to obtain the most favourable cost proposals from bidders,” she said.

With its heritage status, demolishing the existing bridge requires the consent of Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s heritage minister.

According the province’s conservation standards, MacLeod can grant consent to knock the bridge down if she believes that all options other than removal or demolition have been considered by the ministry.

MacLeod can also put conditions on the bridge that “mitigate adverse effects on the property” due to removal and demolition.

Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries spokesperson Denelle Balfour said in an email that, as of Nov. 22, no formal request for demolition of the QEW Credit River bridge has been received by the ministry.

Following the current consultations, the ministry is anticipating filling a report with the teardown and replace option as well as responses to stakeholder questions and concerns in March 2020.

A 30-day public review will follow and, according to Poei, construction on the north twin bridge is anticipated to begin in the summer or fall of 2020.