New Anne Street bridge in Barrie to open to traffic this week

Highly anticipated Barrie bridge to open The highly-anticipated Anne Street bridge in Barrie is set to open this week.

Following months of anticipation, numerous delays, and detours, the Anne Street bridge in Barrie is finally set to open this week.

According to the City of Barrie, the Ministry of Transportation confirmed the bridge over Highway 400 will be open to traffic on Friday.

The new bridge has been under construction since the spring of 2021, significantly impacting traffic through the area.

The ministry noted several challenges, including adverse weather conditions, as factors in prolonging the construction timeline, which was initially slated for completion by the end of 2022.

Business owners in the area are eager for the busy bridge to open.

"Bring business back to normal," said Rita Fuda, The Italian Bakery owner in an interview with CTV News last week.

The bridge replacement's enhanced features include wider sidewalks, a more expansive bridge deck to improve traffic flow, and improvements to the Anne/Edgehill Streets and Anne/Donald Streets intersections.

Starting Monday, the City will focus on an area of Sunnidale Road. The road from Letitia Street to Wellington Street is scheduled to close for crews to begin installing new transmission water mains in the area.