It's been years in the making, but the residents of two Ottawa communities finally have their bridge.
"Hallelujah!" exclaims long-time Riverside South resident Dorothy Costello. "I have a daughter that lives in Barrhaven. I've had to go through Manotick to get there. But this makes it very easy."
The excitement was palpable from the hundreds that gathered for the official opening of the bridge. Some even found a little humour in the situation.
"We've been here for 10 years waiting for this thing to open," says Dwayne Lemon. "And the joke was that it was going to open on Saturday. What Saturday? In what year?"
All jokes aside, finally getting to this day is a relief, especially for Gloucester-South Nepean councillor Steve Desroches.
"This is a chapter is Ottawa's history," he says. "This is not something we do every year. It happens once in a blue moon that you open a bridge of this magnitude. So the community has been very patient."
The day included a walking procession, a ribbon cutting ceremony and a first ride on an OC Transpo bus. Pedestrains and cyclists put the bridge to good use even before the official opening. Early in the afternoon, police cleared the vehicle lanes and the first cars and trucks made their way across the bridge in both directions.
"I'm amazed at all the lanes we have," says cyclist Sancha Miller. "This is great for everyone. Cyclists, people walking and all the cars. It really is fantastic."
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson was also impressed with what he saw.
"They've done a beautiful job. The bridge is pretty spectacular. The cycling lanes, great pedestrian access. It really is a happy day after a lot of frustrating days."
Watson also commented on the architecture of the structure.
"I think it's pretty unique. It could be our version of the Eiffel tower. It might be one of the iconic landmarks in the south end of the city."
