People trying to get to Toronto's Cherry Beach will have to continue detouring along a circuitous route around the area to access the site for at least another month due to a busted lift bridge along Cherry Street.

Those heading to the waterfront in the Port Lands lately have been confounded to find the route to the site inaccessible thanks to issues with the Ship Channel Bridge (also known as the Cherry Street Strauss Trunnion Bascule Bridge), a 94-year-old piece of infrastructure that was damaged during an incident in late April.

While specialists have been working on repairs, the lift mechanism is still malfunctioning, and the main shaft is still damaged, leaving the bridge locked upright for most of the last six weeks.

Toronto bridge stuck in upright position for days is confusing people trying to get to beach https://t.co/CcCUoVaOj3

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 6, 2024

The city's port authority has been issuing regular updates to the public, including a new one on Monday that explains the two phases of fixes that are now on the way after professional assessments.

The construction is due to take nearly two entire months, though thankfully, the bridge will be accessible during some parts of it.

The first phase of work, taking place from June 3 to July 4, includes replacing the broken main shaft. This will necessitate the continued closure of a segment of Cherry Street as the crossing remains in the lifted position.

June 3 : Engineering and construction contractor teams have confirmed a timeline for critical repairs to the damaged main shaft and lifting mechanism of the Ship Channel Bridge. Phase 1 of the repairs will take place between June 3 and July 4. Further detail:…

— PortsToronto (@PortsToronto) June 3, 2024

This will mean that those planning to walk, cycle or drive to Cherry Beach will have to trek all the way east to Leslie Street via Commissioners Street or another route and back west to the sand again via Unwin Avenue — a far longer route that represents a more than a 6 km detour.

Those who were hoping to hop on the 202 Cherry Beach bus are simply out of luck, as the line is not serving anything south of the broken bridge as of May 12.

Toronto beach now inaccessible by transit due to broken bridge and people are trolling the TTC https://t.co/SG4qfehAvN

— blogTO (@blogTO) May 30, 2024

During phase 2 of the viaduct's restoration between July 5 and July 29, the structure will finally be lowered down, with PortsToronto promising to "look for any opportunities to safely open one lane of vehicle, bicycle and pedestrian traffic without risk to workers or the public."

Further announcements about exact opening dates will be provided closer to the beginning of this second phase, but it looks like beachgoers will have to make do with schlepping it the extra few kilometres for at least the next 31 days, and probably longer.