Base Line Bridge in Wallaceburg. Photo courtesy of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

Great news for motorist in Wallaceburg as the Base Line Bridge has reopened to traffic ahead of schedule.

The swing bridge was shut down in mid-October for a $2.1 million structural and mechanical rehabilitation project

The first phase of work wrapped up two days early, reopening on Wednesday afternoon.

Crews will remain on site for the next little while, after the span reopens to traffic.

“The contractor will be continuing with some work adjacent to the bridge and under the bridge, but it won’t have any affect on traffic, just going to be some of the required mechanical work and ongoing maintenance, ” says Chris Thibert, Chatham-Kent’s Director of Engineering. “But then again in the spring, once the asphalt plants open back up again, we do have to do some resurfacing and all the required surface work to the bridge.”

There’s no word yet on how long the work in the spring will take, but Thibert says an update will be released to the public closer to that portion of the project.