STRATFORD, P.E.I. — Details on the Hillsborough Bridge bike and pedestrian lane were outlined during a recent town council meeting.
Stratford councillors asked about the upcoming active transportation lane during their monthly meeting at town hall on July 8. Announced by the provincial government on July 2, it will allow pedestrians and cyclists a more accessible way to cross the high-traffic bridge.
"We're really pleased about the announcement," Mayor Steve Ogden said.
"All of council and staff have been working toward this for a long time."
Jeremy Crosby, the town's infrastructure director, said the town had been a part of a joint committee to overlook the project. He took part in project discussions that day and could confirm a design was recently selected.
"It's the option that we were looking for, and it's exciting to see that that's going to happen."
The design will see both the Charlottetown and Stratford ends of the bridge slightly altered to allow access onto the lane, and it will run along the western side of the bridge, Crosby said.
The vehicle lanes will be shifted over to make space for it, and the sidewalk on the eastern side of the bridge will be removed. There will also be a permanent barrier between the bike lane and the vehicle lanes.
"So, there will be some alterations to the top of the bridge but nothing structural," he said.
"There won't be an overhang or anything like that."
Construction is anticipated to begin in late summer or early fall, Crosby said.
Ogden asked whether there would be any traffic tie-ups due to construction. Crosby figured it was likely, but the public will know more once design and construction plans are finalized in about four weeks, he said.
Daniel Brown is a local journalism initiative reporter, a position funded by the federal government.
