People can now cross the mouth of the Cataraqui River in downtown Kingston for the first time in months as the temporary bridge taking the place of the damaged LaSalle Causeway is open.
The bridge that ferried an estimated 23,000 vehicles between the the city’s downtown and its eastern suburbs, including the Royal Military College and CFB Kingston, was damaged during maintenance work at the end of March.
Its removal in June freed boats that had been blocked from getting to the St. Lawrence River, but it’s limited traffic to downtown businesses and caused months of headaches for commuters who had to go further north to get over the river.
Pedestrians and cyclists were able to cross for a few weeks in spring.
The temporary crossing has two lanes for vehicles and cyclists, according to the City of Kingston, which is the same as the previous bridge. It also has a sidewalk.
The plan was to open it Thursday evening, but Public Services and Procurement Canada said Thursday morning it would open at noon.
The city said it’s adjusting traffic signals around the LaSalle and Waaban bridges and monitoring them in the coming weeks to see if they need further changes.
There are a few transit changes beginning Saturday, including new routes 12 and 22 using the temporary bridge.
To allow boat access to the Inner Harbour, the temporary crossing will be removed and traffic rerouted from 9 a.m. to midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 15 and on Saturday, Nov. 16.
The plan is to have more boat crossing opportunities in the spring.