The long-awaited bridges spanning the Brunette River between Coquitlam and New Westminster are finally open.
In a brief announcement on its website, the City of New Westminster said work has been completed on Braid Street and the two new bridges connecting Braid Street with United Boulevard are now open to all traffic.
This concludes a lengthy process after the original one-lane bridge was found to be needing extensive repairs and the cities of New Westminster and Coquitlam were in disagreement about the bridge's replacement.
An arbitrator eventually ruled in Coquitlam's favor that a single-lane span was inadequate for the amount of vehicle traffic in the area. New Westminster had long maintained that a larger bridge would bring more cars to the foot of Braid Street, an area that is already heavily congested with motorists.
The bridges were to open this past fall, however, issues with construction delayed opening.
