Toronto is about to say goodbye to a nearly 100 year old bridge that, despite serving no real purpose in the city anymore, holds a special place in the hearts of local history and architecture buffs.

Built in 1933, the Old Eastern Avenue Bridge, which bridges the banks of the Don River just south of the Adelaide-Eastern Overpass, has floated above the river like a rusted skeleton ever since it was closed off for the construction of the DVP just 31 years after it opened.

Even today, the bridge remains a landmark of The Don — a steel and concrete reminder of the Toronto that once was, unsullied by melancholy markers of progress like the demolition of the nearby Lever Ponds Soap Factory or the installation of futuristic new bridges just downstream.

The Old Eastern Avenue Bridge isn't immune to the hands of time, though, and it won't be long before it, too, is demolished to make way for infrastructural upgrades to the city.

Before you go decrying "progress for the sake of progress," though, the bridge's demolition will actually benefit the area around it.

According to Waterfront Toronto, the bridge actually adds to the risk of flooding in the already vulnerable area, with its relatively low-lying position posing a potential obstruction to floodwaters flowing downstream.

Well past the end of its service life (again, the bridge hasn't been open for 60 years), the bridge also poses a high chance of failure, particularly in the case of extreme weather events which, it may go without saying, are becoming increasingly more common lately.

The bridge's demolition is part of a larger flood protection project that is geared towards protecting a small area of land southeast of the DVP-Eastern Avenue crossover against flood risks, stabilizing it for future developments like the Broadview Extention and proposed East Harbour Transit-Oriented Community.

Of course, the protection against flood risk will also benefit the always topical Ontario Line, which is set to house its East Harbour Station (which will also serve as a hub servicing the Lakeshore East and Stouffville GO lines) in the area.

While demolition has yet to officially begin, a notice issued by Metrolinx in early August stated that the project was set to begin on Friday, Sept 13 and conclude in late October.