(Photo: Courtesy of Ritchie Boyd)
This is a date that drivers in the region have been waiting to hear for months.
The new bridge linking Moncton and Riverview will open on Friday, September 17 – as long as the weather cooperates.
Department of Transportation and Infrastructure spokesperson Mark Taylor says final preparations are now underway.
“Heavy equipment and graders have been working to level the gravel approach and the exit ramps on the Riverview side. Paving crews have been working on both the Moncton and Riverview sides.”
Taylor says the bridge will be opening a few weeks earlier than expected noting the original date was scheduled for early October.
While the bridge itself cost over $61 million, Taylor says the entire project cost is $121 million which he adds is roughly on budget.
The second link across the Petitcodiac River in Greater Moncton closed in early April when the causeway shut down.
As a result, about 25,000 vehicles per day were diverted to the Gunningsville Bridge.
A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for September 17.
Taylor adds the new bridge does not yet have a formal name with a number of options being considered.
A formal announcement is expected in the near future.
