After years of construction, officials said motorists should be able to cross the North Saskatchewan River on the new Walterdale Bridge by the end of 2017.
During a media update of bridge construction Thursday, Adam Laughlin, Deputy City Manager for Integrated Infrastructure Services told reporters the new bridge would open in September, 2017. The city said his information was based on the contractor's schedule.
Since construction started in June, 2013, the project has faced a series of delays. It was originally meant to open in the fall of 2015, but steel brought in from South Korea was delayed and it put the project one year behind schedule.
Then, in September, 2016, officials said the project wouldn’t be completed until the following year due to cold weather, which kept crews from pouring asphalt on the road surface.
Since June 2015, the contractor has been paying fines to the city of $10,000 per day, the penalty increased to $17,000 per day in November, 2016.
No firm date has been set on the opening of the bridge.
