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West Montrose or Kissing, Waterloo County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

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Inventory Number: ON/59-50-01
County: Waterloo County
Township:
Town/Village: West Montrose
Bridge Name: West Montrose or Kissing
Crosses: Grand River
Truss type: Howe
Spans: 2
Length: 190', 58m
Roadway Width: 17'
Built: 1881
Builder: John and Benjamin Bear (or Baer)
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N43 35.135
Longitude: W080 28.887
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 4.0 miles (6.4 km) east of jct CR21 and Elmira on CR86, then 0.2 miles (0.3 km) right on old Route 86.

West Montrose or Kissing Bridge, West Montrose, Waterloo County, ON Built 1881
Richard E. Roy Collection

West Montrose or Kissing Bridge, West Montrose, Waterloo County, ON Built 1881
Bill Caswell Photo, August 8, 2009

Comments:
This bridge has been numbered 59-51-01 in the World Guides. Due to an error in the county numbering, Waterloo County should be #50, not #51. "The bridge at the small community of West Montrose in Waterloo County was built in 1881 and is known locally as the Kissing Bridge – as were most covered bridges in the days of courting couples seeking privacy and protection from the weather in open buggies. West Montrose forms part of Woolwich Township which was settled largely by Pennsylvania Germans and Scottish emigrants. Late in 1880, the township council passed a motion: "to engage the services of John Bear to draw up plans and specifications for a new bridge on the Grand River at West Montrose" On December 21 they moved to adopt Bear’s plans. The designer/contractor specified that the bridge was to be 198 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 13 feet from the low water mark, built of “good sound timber free from splits, shakes, large or loose knots or anything that has a tendency to impair its strength”. Several local men were employed during the period of construction, and the wood used was principally white pine which is reputed to have been cut near the neighbouring communities of Blair, Doon and Bridgeport. The bridge was completed by the fall of 1881, and the township council minutes of November 15 duly record payment to contractors John and Benjamin Bear for the “balance of bridge contract and extra work”. The following spring, the covered bridge was painted with “residue oil and brown fireproof paint”, and in the winter of 1885 coal-oil lanterns were hung on either end of the bridge “to be lighted to burn until daylight in the morning on all dark nights”. Local residents were contracted to maintain the bridge’s lamps until 1950 when the Department of Highways installed 100-watt lightbulbs. Another type of local maintenance required in the winter months was the spreading of snow on the inside of the bridge to accommodate sleighs." Ownership of the bridge was transferred to the Ontario Ministry of Transportation in 1937. In 1959, steel Bailey trusses were installed and concealed behind wooden panels. A steel sway brace system was installed under the bridge. The load rating was increased from 2 tons to 5 tons. At the same time, a new bridge was built upstream that diverted highway traffic around the village of West Montrose. The bridge was recognized as a provincial historic site on August 28, 1960. Ownership was transferred to the Region of Waterloo in 1998. They contracted with Theo Vandenberk Contracting for a major rehabilitation in 1999/2000. That work included replacement of deteriorated sections of truss members and replacement of the Bailey panels at the center pier.

Source:
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2021, page 174

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