Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge, Bascule bridge in Toronto, Canada.
The Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge is a movable steel bridge over the Toronto Harbour Ship Channel in the Port Lands district of Toronto, Ontario. It carries two traffic lanes and can raise its deck to let vessels through the waterway below.
The bridge was built in 1930 by engineer Joseph Strauss and the Dominion Bridge Company to support the growing port activity along the waterfront. It was part of a broader push to open up the industrial Port Lands to road traffic.
The bridge connects the Port Lands to the rest of the waterfront, and locals use it on foot or by bike as a regular crossing. When a ship passes through, the roadway lifts and everyone on the bridge has to wait, which turns an ordinary crossing into a small shared moment.
The bridge is open to pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles, but it can close temporarily when ships pass through or when maintenance is underway. If you are planning to cross while exploring the Port Lands, it is worth checking current conditions before you set out.
Joseph Strauss, the engineer behind this bridge, is best known as the chief engineer of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, completed in 1937. The trunnion bascule design he used here relies on a horizontal axle to rotate the deck, rather than the counterweight pits more common in other movable bridges.
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