Victoria Street Walking Bridge

Victoria Street Walking Bridge. . The original bridge at this site was constructed in 1842. The cut-stone piers that remain supported the third and fourth bridges built here in 1871 and 1899 respectively. With the completion of the Metcalfe Street bridge in 1954, the Victoria Street bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1969. One sidewalk remained open however and the structure began a new life as a pedestrian bridge. By the mid-seventies the sidewalk too was closed and pedestrians had to wait until 1983 to once again have access to the bridge. That year MGM chose Elora as the setting for a Hollywood movie called "Mrs. Soffel" and paid $35,000 to help restore the bridge. The project involved laying two large steel beams over the bridge super structure and surfacing it with a wood plank decking. Later that year the original roadway was opened as a walking bridge. Unfortunately, the underlying structure was ignored and continued to deteriorate and, although it had been designated by LACAC in 1983, funding for proper restoration was not forthcoming. For the next twenty years, the bridge provided a wonderful overlook and gathering place in the village, as well as an important link between the parking area on the south bank of the Grand River and the shops, restaurants and pubs on Mill Street. The 1899 Victoria Street bridge, with its proud, Pratt truss design, was removed., Three very sturdy, but forlorn, stone piers hold vigil hoping to bear a new pedestrian bridge that might once again link the south bank and Mill Street.