The Neva Lake Bridge in Excursion Inlet is open to traffic again after the U.S. Forest Service replaced the structure.
The previous wooden bridge, located on a National Forest System road was closed to vehicle traffic in July of 2016. The Forest Service deemed the bridge unsafe because of main support beam failure.
The Forest Service had planned to abandon the defunct bridge, but the borough made a deal last summer, agreeing to take ownership and to pay $270,000 of the federal agency’s roughly $700,000 estimated cost of rebuilding.
The replacement ended up costing $1.2 million, Forest Service Public Affairs Officer Paul Robbins said. The Forest Service paid the additional costs.
The 30-year-old bridge was replaced by a government-provided prefabricated steel truss shipped from Oregon, according to a Forest Service press release.
Final inspection of the bridge was completed Nov. 8.
The borough and the Forest Service are working on transferring ownership but no timetable has been set, Robbins said.
The new bridge has an estimated lifespan of 50 years, according to Borough Manager Debra Schnabel.
The Ocean Beauty cannery, the second largest property owner in the Haines Borough, uses the bridge for accessing its water supply.
The borough assembly voted 5-1 in early July to assume ownership of the bridge, with member Tom Morphet opposed.