Guelph’s new Niska Bridge ready to open on time, on budget: city

The City of Guelph says a new two-lane Niska Bridge is ready to open right on schedule and within budget.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Thursday afternoon at the bridge over the Speed River that separates the southwest portion of Guelph and the Township of Puslinch.

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The city didn’t give an exact date for when the bridge will be open to the public but said it should be operational within a week or two, as the area still needs some last-minute touches.

The $6 million project was six years in the making. The former one-lane Bailey Bridge, which stood since the 1970s, was torn down last year by a combat engineer regiment as part of a training opportunity.

The project did not come without opposition with many residents voicing their concerns surrounding the environment, keeping the city’s heritage and increased traffic in the area.

There was even a court challenge during construction that was ultimately tossed earlier this year.

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Deputy CAO Kealy Dedman admitted that not everyone is happy with the final result.

“Our staff worked really hard to balance what was needed and what was asked for in replacing this much-needed community connection, and as you can imagine that was no easy task,” she said.

Mayor Cam Guthrie echoed that sentiment during a speech before ribbon cutting.

“This has been a challenging project,” he said. “We needed to do it to protect the safety of our citizens on this roadway.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This has been a challenging project," he said. "We needed to do it to protect the safety of our citizens on this roadway."

The city plans on working with Guelph police to conduct periodic enforcement against transport trucks from illegally using the bridge. They are also working with smartphone app developers, like Waze, to remove the bridge as an option for trucks.

“We’re also working on an educational program with the trucking companies to ensure that they are aware this is an exclusion zone,” she said.

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Ward 6 Coun. Mark MacKinnon said he believes the city has done enough to address the concerns from the community and he believes the traffic volumes will be minimal.

“I don’t believe it’ll be a significant issue,” he said.

The new bridge features a lane in each direction, a separated cycling and pedestrian path, and three parking spots. There are also three passages under the road for wildlife.