More than a week after drivers first crossed the river on the new Walterdale Bridge, the third lane opened to traffic.
As of Friday, all three lanes and the west pedestrian sidewalk are open to drivers and pedestrians.
The first two lanes and sidewalk opened on September 18, but the third lane remained closed as crews finished work on part of the bridge.
Construction on the bridge began in 2013, but the project encountered a number of delays.
A steel delivery from Korea was delayed, and put the project back a year, and then cold weather pushed completion back another year.
On Monday, the city said the bridge would completely open in October – and then posted a tweet Friday, saying the third lane opened “ahead of schedule”, despite it being two years behind its originally scheduled opening.
Walterdale Bridge third lane opened ahead of schedule this morning, along w/ new west sidewalk. #yegtraffic #walterdalebridge pic.twitter.com/GODR5iWYzW
— City of Edmonton (@CityofEdmonton) September 29, 2017
Meanwhile, crews are still working around the bridge to complete the shared use path and connections to trails. The city said the access road out of Kinsmen to the new bridge will open in 2018.
Once all that work is done, demolition of the old bridge is set to start.
With files from Amanda Anderson
