The City of Edmonton announced Thursday that the delayed 102 Avenue Bridge over Groat Road would finally open to drivers on Friday, July 15.

Officials said the bridge would reopen, with one lane in each direction, by 10 a.m. Friday.

The slow re-open comes after the bridge encountered several delays – it was originally set to open in October 2015.

At least one councillor wasn’t quite ready to confirm traffic would be allowed on the bridge starting Friday.

“There’s a certain amount of embarrassment,” Councillor Scott McKeen said. McKeen said the bridge re-opening would not be marked with much ceremony.

Officials said crews managed to make up for some lost time thanks to an early spring.

“It became so warm, very unusual temperatures that allowed us to get out there and start,” Matt Boiko with the City of Edmonton said. “I think we were out tieing steel around the end of February.”

During peak hours, two traffic lanes will be open in each direction, starting Friday afternoon – the extra lanes will be open Monday to Friday, between 6 and 9 a.m., and then again between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.

The bridge will be down to one lane in each direction to allow crews to complete finishing work, which will continue through the summer and fall.

The finishing work includes installing railings, and replacing the concrete median on Groat Road.

In addition, over the coming months, there will be a number of weekend and overnight closures of Groat Road and the multi-use trail on the west side of Groat Road in the coming weeks.

The new bridge, when work is finished, will feature four lanes for traffic, with lanes wide enough for buses, in addition to wider sidewalks, and a dedicated bike lane.

Businesses in the area have been waiting a long time for the bridge to reopen – Katryna Springer with Heart of the Home is looking forward to an increase in shoppers.

“We’re going to get more traffic, local and from out of town, this is one of the main throughways to downtown, people are going to drive by all the time, it’s going to be great,” Springer said.

The project, which cost $32 million, will be finished by the end of September, 2016.

With files from Michel Boyer