Work has begun on the Nipigon River cable-stayed bridge, and pile driving for the project is also expected to begin shortly.
The bridge is a major project included in the four-laning plans for Highway 11-17 between Nipigon and Thunder Bay.
Nipigon Mayor Richard Harvey expects the structure will even boost tourism to the area.
“It’s exciting and it is the one thing you hear everyone in the region talking about,” Harvey said during an interview with CKPR Radio on Thursday.
“This bridge is going to be a real eye-popper, it’s going to be a great tourism attraction, not only when it is completed but even during construction.”
Harvey adds that he wants to pay tribute to the bridge’s history.
“We’re looking at having displays about the bridge and the history of the bridge at the museum here,” he said, adding that the history would not just focus on the new bridge being built but of “the history of the area, going back to the first bridge in 1947 and even before that when there was no bridge and we had ferries going back and forth.”
The project is scheduled for completion in 2017 at a cost of $106 million.
(CKPR Radio)
