Walterdale Bridge trails reopen after 5 years of construction

The popular trail connections around the Walterdale Bridge have reopened after nearly five years of construction.

A stretch of trail from the Walterdale bridge to 94th Avenue and a connector to the south of the bridge were shutdown in 2013 to make way for construction.

Opening the trailsmarked "the last milestone" in the project, deputy city manager Adam Laughlin said at a celebration Thursday night.

"I think what we've done here is phenomenal," he said.

• Reopening trails will take 1 to 2 years and cost millions, committee told
• New Walterdale Bridge finally opens to traffic

At the north end of the bridge, the wide asphalt pathway dips underneath the bridge without trail-users having to cross the traffic intersection. There was no east-west connection on the north side of the old Walterdale bridge.

Mayor Don Iveson said the pathway and landscaping around the bridge provides residents easy access to the river valley.

"This bridge clearly demonstrates that this city is not afraid to build the kind of iconic infrastructure and architecture typical in the world's finest cities," he said.

Wally Strang was out on his daily bike ride along the river valley before the celebration got started. The trail closures were inconvenient, he said, but it was worth waiting for the new pathways.

"It gives us a really nice route all the way up to 142nd Street and back," he said.

"It just makes it easier and a lot prettier."

John Walter, the 94-year-old grandson of the Walterdale Bridge's namesake was on hand for Thursday's celebration, along with four generations of the Walter family.

"It's quite an honour, really," he said of the chance to see the new bridge open.

Walter,flanked by his wife Lora, expressed hope his grandchildren and great-grandchildren would be able to enjoy the bridge and river valley for years to come.

The elder John Walter's lumber mill was ravaged by massive floods in 1915. The water levels from that flood, and other major floods before and after, are marked with thick concrete lines on the abutment of the bridge where trail-users pass.

The estimated cost of the new Walterdale Bridge is $155 million, but the project has racked up potentially millions in late fees from the contractor. The bridge was originally slated to open in November 2015.

"We have collected damages. The project is going to be on or under budget," Laughlin said, but did not specify how much the city was paid or any details of the negotiations.

"For legal reasons, I'm not at liberty to discuss the details associated with the damages."

The final budget numbers forthe project will only be available in two years, when a warranty on the total project is complete, Laughlin said.