New Samuel de Champlain Bridge officially inaugurated

Montreal’s new Samuel de Champlain Bridge was officially inaugurated today, and will fully open to traffic on Canada Day.

Today’s inauguration comes 57 years to the day the first Champlain Bridge opened on June 28, 1962.

READ MORE: Montreal’s new Samuel de Champlain Bridge opens northbound

The bridge — one of Canada’s largest infrastructure projects — opened to northbound traffic towards Montreal on Monday, and southbound traffic will begin next Monday.

It was originally scheduled to open last December, but various delays pushed back the opening and added another $235 million to the original $4.2 billion price tag.

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A pedestrian and bike path will open later this summer on the new 3.4 kilometre span.

WATCH: Cyclists are of two minds when it comes to the year-round bike path on the new Samuel de Champlain Bridge. Some cyclists and cycling advocates applaud the addition, others wonder what will happen to the span that runs parallel to the former Champlain Bridge. Global’s Brittany Henriques explains.

1:55 Cyclists on the fence about bike path on new Champlain Bridge

READ MORE: Slices of Montreal immortalized as part of new Champlain Bridge

The old Champlain bridge will close permanently Friday evening and deconstruction work on the 57-year-old bridge is scheduled to begin next year and will take about three years to complete at an estimated cost of $400 million.