Kingston opens Third Crossing Bridge to walkers, cyclists for a one-day preview

It was an event years in the making, as Kingston residents got to walk the Third Crossing Bridge for the very first time on Saturday.

The Third Crossing Bridge - which will be named Waaban Crossing when it officially opens later this year - has been under construction for three years.

It’s the city’s largest infrastructure project to date. The 1.2 km, $180-million project, will connect the east and west shores of the Cataraqui River, and allow people to access the west side and east sides of the city in a new way.

As construction nears completion, the city opened up the walking and cycling pathway for people to try out for one day.

Those like Curtis Froom took part, who owns a doggy daycare. Taking his ten dogs out for the first time, he says the opening is exciting.

"We’ve never walked dogs to the east side so this is a whole new thing," he says. "It’s been wanted for a long time by a lot of people"

Previously, the only way people could access either part of the city was to take either the 401 highway, or going downtown through the Causeway bridge kilometres away.

Once completely opened and in operation, it will hold a two-lane road for cars, and a pathway for people to walk and bike across.

Kingston resident Janine Mals-Dyer is from the east end, and says she’s been waiting decades for it to be built.

"It’s great. Long awaited. Long awaited, it’s fantastic," she says. "I moved into the east end… quite a long way ago, we were talking about the bridge, and 30 years later it’s here so I could not be anywhere else but here on this day."

City officials say the construction of the bridge is over 90 per cent complete and set to open on time and within budget.

Work is still underway in some sections of the bridge, including some paving and clean-up, which will take "some more weeks" to complete, according to Mark Van Buren, who is the deputy commissioner for the major projects office with the city of Kingston. 

Avid cyclist Susan Hudson says the bridge will allow her to ride her bike easily from one end of the city to the other. 

"I’ve been excited and anticipating this," she says of the trial run. "It’s just amazing to the community on the east side, (it) will allow people to have options."

The city says the bridge will fully open at the end of the year.