HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron Expositor, 1970-07-23, Page 12MOMS EXPOSITOR, SEAFORTif, 3141T., JUL' 23, 1974:1
CONGRATULATIONS
We appreciate the opportunity of working with the Ontario,
Department of HighWays on the construction of the new Sil-
ver Creek Bridge at Seaforth and congratulate the citizens of
the community on this attractive structure.
B Y l Construction Ltd.
BR-1DGES • ROADS • CULVERTS
Dublin, Ontario
'TEL. - 519 - 345-2800 4
We are happy to have had a part in the construction of the fine
new
Silver Creek Bridge
We congratuMe Officials of the Department of Highways on
the design, Looby Construction Ltd. who built the structure and
Huron,Concrete Supply Ltd.who provided the ready-mix concrete
used in construction.
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N ew Silver C reek B ridge
Replaces 47 Year Old Span
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Members of the firm of Looby Construction, Ltd. of Dublin which
was responsible for construction of the newSilverCreek -Bridge are: (seated) Joseph E. Looby (standing left) Louis .1. Looby, Clayton P.
Looby and Clarence T. booby.
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firm, has a staff of 200. Among
the larger projects under way are
those at Bala, $700,000, and Dela-
ware, $250,000. Other lobs in-
clude projects at Moncton and
Pembroke..
The Looby firm had its be-
ginnings more than fifty years
ago when Louis booby formed the
Looby Construction Works. The
present organization, the out-
growth... of separate construction
ompanies operated by his sons,
came into being. in May 1955.
The brothers - Joseph E. booby,
Clayton P. booby, LoulsJ. booby
and Clarence T. Looby - operate
their widespread business from
Dublin where head office, storage
warehouse and repair facilities
are maintained.
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This bridge was adequate for the horses and wagons that travelled along the then Huron Road
sixty and seventy years ago. The wooden bridge was replaced by a "simple steel beam" bridge in
1923. The picture, from a postcard“piiblished for Alex Wilson, Seaforth" was made available by
Mrs. Joseph Shea, R.R.1., Dublin. . ei
This is the Silver Creek Bridge that served travellers along No. 8 Highway for nearly 50
years. The bridge was erected in 1923 and when It was erected represented a new era in bridge building iii Ontario.
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Constructed during the past
year at a total cost of $101,152.00.
Seaforth's new Silver Creek
Bridge will be opened July 23
with Honourable Charles S. Mac-
Naughton, Treasurer of Ontario,
Minister of Economics and
M.P.P. for Huron officiating.
Tike Ontario Department of
Highways, which financed and
supervised the new structure,
replacing one erected in 1923 and
later extended, will be represent-
ed by Deputy Minister A.T.C.
(Cam) McNab.
An important link on Highway
8 from Stratford to Goderich, and
on the borderline of McKillop and
Tuckeismith Townships, the
bridge has a span length of 30
feet, a fleck length of 34 feet and
a roadway width of 33 feet for
vehicles with a pedestrian side-
walk five feet wide.
Including the approaches the
construction site covered a quar-
ter of a mile and called for
grading, drainage and new paving.
This was entirely apart from the
installation of retaining walls,
parapet walls and wing walls and
the rigid fram structure itself,
complete with railings.
Described on the official plan
as "simple steel beam", the
Silver Creek Bridge of 47 years
ago was 24 feet, four inches
wide. It then represented a new
era in bridge building on Ontario
Highways. Steel' Ind concrete had
taken the place of stout wooden
beam p .and planks. The horseless
carriage was here to stay.
As the citizens of Seaforth and
district witness the inauguration
ceremony, the minds of some may
dwell on other Huron County
bridges replaced back in 1923.
Silver Creek was not the only
stream to reflect the change in
bridge styling.. FoUr 20.foot spans
and four 14 footers were built the
same year, the official report of
the Department of Highways
shows.
During 1923 in Huron 14
miles of road were graded to a
width of 28 feet • and 13 miles
were gravelled to a width of. 20
feet. The gravel was applied •
from three to ten inches deep.
East ".of Seaforth at the
Tuckersmith-Hibbert line the
year before the Silver Creek
Bridge went up, a traffic census
showed 'the need of-the new
structure. As many as 337
vehicles a day were reported,
including 185 cars, seven buses
and ten trucks. Only 44, one-
horse vehicles were noted with ,
seven team dravnz ones.
As S. L. Squire, Deputy Min-
ister' of Highways at the time
observed in his 1923 report:
"the motor vehicle has become
a necessity for the transaction
of business."
Last year's average dilly
traffic count for Seaforth west
to Clinton showed 2,050 vehicles
or roughly eight times the 1922
figure. During July and August
the average jumped to 2,800 a
day.
More cars have meant more
Receives
Award
'A graduate of the Ontario Ag-
ricultural College Extension
Course in 1937, R, N. Alexander
of Londesboro, has been awarded
the Robertson Associate Award
by the Canadian Seed Growers'
Associatlon. 'A farmer, seed gro-
wer and operator of his own seed
cleaning plant, Mr. Alexander has
served agriculture and the far-
mers in, his area for the past 21
years.
He became a member of 'MS
Canadian Seed Growers' Asso-
ciation in 1950; specializing in
the production of barley, wheat,
Cetitury peas,' and. Climax timo-
thy. He is Past President of the
Huron County S Crop Im-
provement Association and was
an exhibitor at the Royal Winter
Fair, a Director of Hullett Town-
ship Federation of Agriculture,
and a 4-11 Club leader. He served-
ail a Public School Trustee and is
an Elder in the Londesboro United
ChurCh.
roads and far better ones than
were being constructed the year
the old Silver Creek Bridge
'opened. , The report of the
Huron County Engineer showed
five miles added to the Pro-
vincial system "with .crushed
gravel as a wearing surface."
That same year $295,069.00
was spent on Provincial,
County and Township Roads.
This compares with the De-
partment's $3,770,822.00 ex-
penditure in Huron County last
year.
Out 'of this total the Depart-
ment of Highways contributed
$2,366.880.00 to municipal road
building programs. The 1923 sub-
sidies to the municipalities•
amounted to only $100,493.90.
Last year's major expendit-
ures i included $155,856.00 n
Tuckersmith (subsidy $78,874),
$150,238 in Grey Township (sub-
sidy $105,154) and $143,090 in
Hullett Township (subsidy
$92,416).
Looby Construction Limited
of Dublin who carried out the con-
tract 'for the new Silver Creek
Bridge on No. 8 Highway at the
Lions Park, has been responsible
for major bridge projects across
Ontario.
With contract% having a value
in excess of $1,500,000 under way
at the present time at various
centres in Ontario, the Looby
Looby Construction
Projects Total $1,500,000