July 12, 2017 – Blackburn News, Melanie Irwin – The second span of the Blue Water Bridge officially opened 20 years ago.
A special ceremony was held on July 12, 1997 at the international boundary line atop the three-lane span.
Two girl guides, one from Sarnia and one from Port Huron, marked the occasion with an exchange of Canadian and American flags.
On the weekend of July 12 and 13, residents on both sides of the St. Clair River were invited to walk the $100-million structure — a tradition that was carried over from the opening of the first span in 1938.
Bridge officials estimated 75,000 people participated.
Traffic started crossing the span on July 22.
The first paying Canadian to make the trip was a London woman, selected in a Sarnia radio contest.
Margo Koyle rode across the bridge in the sidecar of a motorcycle from Sarnia’s Motorsport Harley Davidson.
The bridge took five years of planning and just over two years to construct and after its opening the original span was immediately closed for an extensive renovation and didn’t reopen until November 1999.
