Long-planned construction of a twin span of the Garden City Skyway is tentatively due to begin in 2024, says the Ontario Ministry of Transportation.

The new bridge, to be built north of the old skyway, will affect roads and businesses in southern Niagara-on-the-Lake.

The existing skyway will remain open during construction but will be closed for repairs after the new one opens.

Once repairs are done, the new skyway span will carry Toronto-bound traffic while old bridge will be for Niagara-bound traffic, with four lanes on each bridge, ministry adviser Kimberly Truong told The Lake Report in an email.

The work will include maintenance to the substructure and replacement of the concrete deck. The original steel girders will be retained, Truong said.

Niagara Stone Road, Queenston Road, Taylor Road, Coon Road, Dieppe Road, York Road and the Welland Canal Parkway Trail will need to be realigned to “accommodate the new highway right-of-way and bridge structure,” said ministry spokesperson Natasha Tremblay.

Businesses along the construction path will be affected and some will be bought out by the province. All affected properties have already been contacted, Tremblay said.

The plan will go through several phases before construction begins. Preliminary design and planning have been completed and the next step is the detailed design phase.

The project is up for tender and until a construction company has been chosen the exact cost will not be known, Tremblay said.

The skyway was completed in 1963 at a cost of $20 million, about $180 million with inflation today, according to a 1964 article by the New York Times.

A report by engineering firm MMM Group Ltd. in 2014 said the original skyway would be in need of replacement by 2025.