After years of delays, the city’s newest bridge opened to traffic Monday morning.
Two lanes on the south side of the new Walterdale Bridge opened to traffic at about 5:30 a.m. Monday, when crews hauled away barricades.
Crews are still working on the north side of the bridge, the third lane and the sidewalk will remain closed to traffic and pedestrians until October.
The $155 million bridge is two years behind schedule.
Construction began in 2013, with a planned opening in 2015. However, the shipments of steel beams from South Korea delayed the project for one year.
“At the end of the day, it was the contractor’s decision on which suppliers they were going to use,” Infrastructure Deputy Manager Adam Laughlin said.
Cold weather held up progress for a second year.
The contractor on the project was forced to pay millions of dollars in fines due to project delays – the city said the fines put the project under budget.
“The contractor has been accruing penalties to the tune of $17,000 a day,” Laughlin said.
The city said the contractor could pay between $10 million and $12 million in fines, but the number won’t be final until the project is complete.
Once the third lane and both pedestrian walkways are open, crews will begin work to take down the old bridge. That work is expected to wrap up in 2018.
With files from David Ewasuk and Jonathan Glasgow
