Princess Margaret Bridge open again

Fredericton's Princess Margaret Bridge re-opened to traffic Thursday after being closed for repairs since May.

The bridge had been scheduled to re-open on Sept. 5, but the $77.4-million construction project has been plagued by setbacks, including wet weather and unrealistic timelines, according to the company doing the work.

"I greatly appreciate the patience of the travelling public and the co-operation that we have had from the City of Fredericton," Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Claude Williams stated in a news release.

"Now that the waterproofing and paving has been completed, we can safely re-open the bridge to traffic, while SNC-Lavalin continues working on other areas of the bridge that will not disrupt the traffic flow," he said.

The bridge, which opened in 1959, has been undergoing a major rehabilitation for the past two years.

The most recent work included replacement of the deck, refurbishment of the piers, steel repairs, completion of bearing replacement and painting.

"The refurbishment of this bridge will allow the people of Fredericton and the surrounding area to enjoy a safe structure for the next 50 years," said Williams.

The bridge is one of the two main Fredericton bridges that cross the St. John River and connects the city's north and south sides.

The repeated delays have frustrated many of the estimated 20,000 drivers who use the bridge every day and it has hurt many of the businesses that rely on that traffic.

Engineers originally blamed the wet weather earlier in the summer for slowing their ability to work on the bridge.

But in October, Paolo Ermacora, an official with SNC-Lavalin, the contractor responsible for the bridge repairs, said the company should have been given an additional year to complete the massive project.

The condition of the aging bridge when SNC-Lavalin took over the project was worse than expected and some of the bridge's original drawings were missing, which complicated parts of the project, Ermacora said.