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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.