Tobacco Trail bridge over I-40 opens

The long-awaited American Tobacco Trail Bridge over Interstate 40 is open, Durham officials said Thursday.

The 270-foot-long pedestrian bridge is located west of Fayetteville Road, and the connection to the trail heading south is in the parking lot near Southpoint Cinemas at The Streets at Southpoint. A second access point, with parking, is about a quarter-mile farther south on Fayetteville Road.

Construction on the bridge began in 2012 and was set to be completed last summer. A number of factors, ranging from wet weather to issues with the safety fencing, delayed the project for eight months, but it still was finished within its $11 million budget.

In the meantime, 4.2 miles of trail opened to the public in October.

The bridge is the second bicycle/pedestrian bridge in the United States with an arch-support, stress-ribbon design. Its completion means the American Tobacco Trail now extends from N.C. Highway 54 at Fayetteville Road to the Chatham County line and beyond. It also fills a link in the East Coast Greenway, which runs from Florida to Maine.