[2] The bridge was renamed in 1986 in honour of Aubrey Cosens, a military sergeant with The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada and Victoria Cross recipient from the area.

[3] Members of The Queen's Own Rifles, and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada(A&SHofC), Cosens' original regiment, were present at the official unveiling.

Just a few months earlier, provincial Transportation Minister Ed Fulton had refused the town's request to name the bridge for Cosens on the grounds that government policy was to not name bridges after people, despite the fact that the government had just recently renamed the Burlington Bay Skyway in Burlington and Hamilton for former cabinet minister James Allan.

[10] According to the Ministry of Transportation's final report, the failure was caused by fatigue fracture of three steel hanger rods on the northwest side of the bridge.

[11] The report also recommended a number of improvements to the ministry's design and inspection practices to prevent future failures of this type.