00:00Margaret McMaster and Barbara Jones witnessed the 1946 opening of the old Bridgewater Bridge.
00:12Today, they were the first to drive on the new one,
00:17soon followed by 7,000 others who registered to walk across it.
00:21I never walked on the bridge before, so I didn't get to Hobart or the Bowen, so I got this one.
00:27My family surprised me to do it. I wasn't going to do it, but I'm glad I did. I love it. I love this bridge.
00:33I worked here at Bridgewater for 30 years and I never thought I'd see this day. Never did.
00:40At $786 million, the new four-lane bridge replaces the old 1940s two-lane bridge
00:46and allows for the continuous flow of traffic towards the middle of Tasmania.
00:50It's been a long time coming, with some funding promised way back in 2004
00:56before political disagreements over scope and priorities meant it was put on hold.
01:01But construction finally started in 2022 and it's largely been finished on schedule.
01:07It's delivered jobs, it's delivered skills and it's delivered something that everyone
01:13who's been involved in can be enormously proud of.
01:17The bridge brings people and communities together and that is precisely what this bridge
01:23will be doing for many decades to come.
01:26The old bridge is expected to be demolished over the coming 12 months, with the causeway to remain in place.
01:33The new bridge will open to vehicle traffic tomorrow morning, saving time for those travelling
01:38between Northern Hobart and the Midlands.
01:41But today was all about the foot traffic.
01:44We've been waiting for it for so long, and here we are, we're doing it.
01:51Music to everyone's ears.
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