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Win ice\breakup on Scugo The breaking-up and melting of ice on Lake Scugog has never been kind to the Causeway, or what was known as the Scugog Bridge in its earlier days. Built in 1853-54 as a floating bridge to connect the two com- munities, the bridge/causeway proved to be very unstable and treacherous, especially in the spring as melting ice began to shift and move. Each spring, before it became a permanent roadway, the floating sections of bridge had to be hauled back into place and straightened at a great expense to the County of Ontario, who owned the bridge. On one occasion, in April 1908 the bridge received a severe pounding by the ice, snapping the railings and telephone poles. Then in 1929 the bridge was wid- ened, to accommodate the use of motor vehicles, but because of its low proximity to the lake, each spring brought more problems to the troubled roadway. Floods in the spring of 1960 kept the causeway flooded for almost eight weeks. As can be seen on this page, at times the water was extremely high and dangerous. Due to the ongoing damage and flooding of the causeway the provincial government spent $1.5 million to re-build the link to Scu- gog Island the summer of 1960. And aside from a minor up- grading a couple of years ago, the causeway bridge which is still in use today looks much as it did af ter the 1960 rebuilding of the con- necting link to Scugog Island. Illustrated here are pictures of the Scugog Bridge/Cause- way, taken over the past century during the annual spring floods. Flood waters }60 reached i along the lakefront, where Reid's re indeparvont is located today. focus@observerpub.ca Top: Workers begin repairs to the Scugog Bridge in the late 1800s after ice destroyed it. Above: A car detours around the causeway during repairs in 1928. Left: An Ontario County truck makes its way to Scugog Island after flooding in 1958. ww: Car coming to Port Per from ie ‘sland during the eight week flood in the spring of 1960. FOCUS - APRIL 2007 19