The Chesley Main Street Bridge is open to limited traffic on Friday.
The site is still considered a construction zone and there is a 40 km/h speed limit. Pedestrian access is restricted to the east sidewalk of the bridge.
It's been ten months since the original bridge was badly damaged by ice and floodwaters. It was declared structurally unsound and had to be demolished.
Earlier this fall, the provincial Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program turned down Bruce County's application for financial assistance for a new bridge.
The MDRA felt the Chesley Bridge project did not qualify, because of the age of the structure and the fact that it was scheduled for replacement in a few years.
Bruce County adjusted its 2018 budget to fund the entire three-million-dollar build.
The final work on the bridge will be done in the spring.
(BlackburnNews.com photo by Jeff Irwin)
