Bridge historian wants span spared
The fate of Thamesville’s historic bridge is entirely in the hands of its contractor, says Chatham-Kent’s director of engineering and transportation — but for a bridge enthusiast and historian from Michigan, the bridge should be saved and used as opposed to being demolished.
Nathan Holth of Lansing, Mich., operates a website devoted to historical and architecturally compelling bridges (www.historicalbridges.org) and claims the loss of the historic bridge that crosses the Thames River at Thamesville would be a loss of something both rare and uncommon — the only one of its kind in Ontario, according to Holth.
“This bridge is the only bridge of this style known in Ontario, as a small-scale continuous through truss. It is also one of the last remaining metal truss bridges of any kind in Chatham-Kent,” said Holth in an email. “Its loss would mean the loss of a unique structure. There would be no opportunities to make up for this loss by preservation of a similar bridge elsewhere since there are no similar bridges,” he continued.
According to Holth’s website, the current bridge, which sits just adjacent to the site of the new bridge, was built in 1937 by the Canadian Bridge Company of Walkerville.
It’s a continuous truss bridge and can be compared to the Jacques Cartier Bridge in Montreal regarding the shape of its trusses, he said.
When asked about the bridge being potentially sold and moved much like the famous London Bridge was moved from Britain to the American Southwest decades ago, Holth said he believes that despite its size and complexity, the relocation of the Thamesville span would be feasible, but the best solution might be to keep it where it is — with a new purpose and new caretakers.
“The best solution is if the existing governmental owner, such as the Municipality of ChathamKent, is willing to retain ownership of the bridge as a pedestrian crossing next to the new replacement bridge,” said Holth.
“And perhaps involve interested parties like historical societies and volunteers to maintain the bridge,” he added.
With this solution, Holth believes the bridge would not only be preserved but has the potential to draw local tourism with its rarity — something he thinks the new bridge will lack.
The new Thamesville bridge, which was originally set to be complete in December, has now been delayed to October 2019 due to severe flooding early this year and an accident at the girder fabrication plant, said director of engineering and transportation Chris Thibert in an email.
Regarding what the new bridge is expected to look like, Thibert compared it to bridges currently seen in the downtown core of Chatham with gateway features that “will consist of steel posts that will hold steel plates above both ends of the bridge that contain cut-outs of historical and heritage symbols and images.”