Sandy Beach Bridge reopens after being destroyed by flood
Pedestrian bridge is the 1st of three that will be replaced
A year and a half after the 2013 floods damaged three pedestrian bridges beyond repair, the City of Calgary has reopened the first of its newly-built replacement bridges.
The Sandy Beach Bridge connects the Elbow River Pathway on the east and west sides of the river. It was torn down in September 2013, as were the Riverdale Avenue Bridge and the Rideau Park Bridge.
City officials say it was important they focused on getting this bridge up first before focusing attention on the other two.
"The Sandy Beach Bridge is a really important piece of our transportation network, more so than the other two bridges and people were really, really concerned about getting this one up," said Ward 11 Coun. Brian Pincott.
"The bike commuters have had a major detour for 17 months, people who use it to walk to work or run to work or run to different places, this bridge is different than the other two so that's why this one was the priority."
The ceremonial opening of the bridge included a First Nations blessing as well as a ribbon cutting by Mayor Naheed Nenshi, who showed up in a Calgary Stampeders' jersey to support the team as they faced the Edmonton Eskimos in the CFL Western Final Sunday.
The price tag for replacing all three pedestrian bridges is close to $12 million, which the city says will come from the province's Disaster Relief Program and Flood Recovery Erosion Control Program, as well as the City of Calgary's own Fiscal Stability Reserve.