Transporting Bridges for Toronto's Villiers Island Project and 300-ton Atlas Crane

A lot of ship fans made an effort to catch the last of the four bridges that went up the St. Lawrence Seaway, so I saw quite a few photos of the barge in transient. And my daughter and son-in-law took some photos for me when they visited a friend in Toronto. Please see Villers Island for an overview of the project. These notes focus on transporting the bridges from their fabrication in Dartmouth, NS, to their final destination in Toronto, ON.

PortLandsTO

Note that the first part of the trip is in the open ocean. When they are in a big body of water, they use a long towing line because the line absorbs the movement of the barge caused by waves and because there is plenty of room for the barge when it moves side-to-side. In channels, they shorten the line because they don't have to worry about waves, but they do have to worry about reducing the side-to-side movement. Of course, the line is the shortest when they are going through locks. Also, another tug is used on the rear when going through narrow channels. This is a timelapse video of the trip for the first barge. It clearly shows how the length of the tow line is changed as the body of water being traversed changes. (I have not been able to identify this bridge.)

4:59 video @ 1:44 via PortLandsTO

The rest of these notes focus on the transit of the fourth, and final, bridge.

Janey Anderson posted four photos with the comment: "Pilot boarded Tug BEVERLY M1 with the next Toronto Bridge piece on GLOVERTOWN SPIRIT barge in Halifax at 22:00 tonight -  and they departed for Toronto. 06.25.22  Photo Credit: Glynn Johnston"

Tom Goodyer shared with the comment: "Here we go Folks."

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Janey Anderson posted four photos with the comment: "It's THAT time again Ship Junkies. Pilot boarded Tug BEVERLY M1 with the next Toronto Bridge piece on GLOVERTOWN SPIRIT barge in Halifax at 22:00 tonight -  and they departed for Toronto. Stay tuned for more updates to come! Photo Credit: Glynn Johnston"

Carl Durocher: Nice pictures, is this the last part. How long is the piece you are transporting?

Glynn Johnston: Carl Durocher last piece and about 200 ft long approximately.

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Janey Anderson posted
UPDATE - this morning off the coast of Gaspé.
BEVERLY M 1 tug with the 4th (and final) Cherry Street South Bridge en route to Toronto on barge Glovertown Spirit. The bridge is on a towline extending approx. 1500ft behind the tug.06.28.22
Photo credit: Glynn Johnston 
Paul Repko: I know there's probably a very good reason for it...but anyone know why they use such a long tow line? Does it absorb shock loads? Do they shorten it when they get closer to the destination?
Janey Anderson: Paul Repko a long tow is used in open water like this- the barge does not have any kind of brakes so if the tug's engine stopped for example, you don't want the barge carrying a 340-tonne bridge to hit you. And yes - it is shortened at its destination. But Glynn Johnston or Dave Yager will explain it better than me.
Glynn Johnston: Paul Repko it's mostly to absorb the shock caused by the ocean swells . If you shock the towline hard enough it will defiantly break .in the river we shorten it in to 200 feet or less because there are no swells and at 1500 feet it would be dragging on bottom. Also the longer the towline the less likely the barge will run into the tug if something happened lol
Paul Ingram: The “sag” or catenary in the tow cable also provides a shock absorber between the tug and tow. A hard, straight pull can do a lot of damage to the tug, barge, or both. There’s also the risk of parting the towing connection.

Lorraine Mirrill posted five photos with the comment: "New Bridge  a comin'  Tug Beverly MI with the barge Glovertown Spirit upbound at Sorel, QC 6/30/22. The barge is carrying another new bridge, built in Nova Scotia, for the Portlands in Toronto."

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McKeil Marine Limited posted three photos with the comment:

Touchdown

The third bridge span was safely delivered earlier this week and loaded to land in Toronto! 

This time the bridge was delivered via the Beverly M and it’s crew along with the barge, Glovertown Spirit. Thanks to the crew and project managers for another successful voyage 👏  

We are honoured to be part of a project that will one day create a gateway to a new island in Toronto protecting against future floods, while also providing residential, commercial and recreational opportunities. 

📸 @lanimaritime & Captain Glynn

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1 of 5 photos posted by Chuck Larrabee
below SNELL LOCK
Tom Barker: number 4 of 4

Two of the ten photos posted by Richard Haydon with the comment: "Tugs LOIS M. and WYATT M. with the Barge and Bridge destined for Toronto, at Beauharnois, QC. Seaway Lock #3 Nov. 5, 2020."

Richard Haydon shared with the comment: "THREE SHIP THURSDAY    The Toronto Bridge at Beauharnois, QC.    2 Tugs and a Barge (The Glovertown Spirit)"

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Joan Simple posted three photos with the comment: "Things just worked out today & we got to see the arrival of the final bridge at the Port of Toronto. Fourth one's a charm…the tugs really nailed the delivery, it all seemed to go like clockwork. This one will twin up with the first arrival on Cherry Street, which was delivered way back in the fall of 2020."

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Janey Anderson commented on photo #1, cropped
Where were you? Lol

My daughter caught a nice overview of the landfill from a ferry. Near the left side we see the new North Cherry Street Bridge and to the left of the power plant on the right we see the South Cherry Street Bridge.

Laura Santos, Released into the Public Domain

Janey Anderson posted fifteen photos with the comment:

The latest and last Toronto Bridge arrived late yesterday on a spectacular and very sunny late Sunday afternoon. 

There was an impressive team working to bring this huge load into the harbour.

Tugs Beverly M1, Wyatt M, John D, & Amy Lynn D.- earlier through the locks and seaway; Workboat Mito Mo, Barge Glovertown Spirit; Project management boat - Murphy G.; Toronto Police Marine Unit boat MU11. 

All amazing drone shots by Bobby Dzz 

Otherwise a few shots - Janey Anderson

So happy to have enjoyed this day with a  few Ship Junkie friends!! Every day is better with good people! ❤ 

07.03.22

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This is the South Cherry Street Bridge. Since they installed it before the new river channel connected with the existing slip, they could work on dry land for this one.

Janey Anderson commented on her post
[Another Bobby Dzz drone shot.]

Chris Kirby posted a video and several photos of placing the bridge onto its temporary piers so that they could remove the barge with its bridge support beams. The last two photos (4 & 5) were obviously taken from the barge as it moved away from the bridge.

0:46 video @ 0:00

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Again, from a ferry ride on July 8, 2022. Both bridges are at North Cherry Street. The first bridge transported is behind the fourth bridge transported, which is still high i[ on its temporary piers.

Laura Santos, Released into the Public Domain

Another view of the South Cherry Street Bridge. The narration of one of the project videos referred to the crane as the "historic Atlas crane." It is being preserved in a new park as "industrial art."

Laura Santos, Released into the Public Domain

In this view, the fourth bridge transported is on the right and the first bridge is on the left.

Rodnei Santos, Released into the Public Domain

This view catches both the North and South Cherry Street Bridges and most of the Atlas Crane.

Rodnei Santos, Released into the Public Domain

More about the Atlas Crane.

Waterfront Toronto posted
Friday Photo: The 300-ton Atlas Crane was installed on the edge of Polson Slip in 1961 where it unloaded ships by the Marine Terminal 35 building. Now a designated heritage structure, the decommissioned crane is being incorporated into the design for the park on the future river’s edge.
See the full gallery here: https://portlandsto.ca/construction/pictures/

I hope this is a permanent link to a post by globalexpress because it contains four photos of the crane. If it isn't permanent, the post of interest was made on May 23, 2021, and I saved the second photo below along with his general comment.

globalexpress
"Photos of the 1961 built, decommissioned 300-ton Atlas crane taken from my kayak in Polson slip. Designated a heritage structure, this cane will become a fixture in the future Promontory Park. It really is a behemoth when viewed from this perspective !"

Speaking of the park. The "Atlas Crane Peninsula" will be next to a cove designed for use by canoes and kayaks.

PortLandsTo-parks