bridge, and for the leaf locks at the toe of the bridge leaves. The Barra Strait Bridge was constructed just to the northeast of the existing Grand Narrows Bridge. Construction The first work done for the new bridge was excavation and road work to create road approaches to the new bridge location. The approaches on the Grand Narrows side were completed by October 1983 with work on the approaches on the Iona side completed by 1985. The bridge itself was built in phases, spread out over a number of years: Phase one 1987 The first phase included the bridge abutments and four of the bridge piers sunk to the bottom of the strait, over below. Phase two 1989 The second phase of construction of the bridge included the double leaf bascule, the Grand Narrows approach span, and the fendering system to guide shipping between the existing rail bridge and the new highway bridge. It was carried out through the summer of 1989 by VanZutphen Brothers Construction Ltd. Construction began on the bascule in April of that year. The first of the foundations for the bascule were built on a barge and the remaining were built in the water. The mechanical and electrical work for the bascule were completed that summer. Phase three 1992-1993 The third and final phase of the bridge construction included the installation of the girders for the five remaining spans, the bridge deck and superstructure. The waterproofing and paving of the deck, gravelling and paving of the connector roads were completed along with the proper signs. Contract Lawsuit There was a controversy in awarding the third phase tender which ended up at the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Originally the tenders were limited to prestressed concrete but this was amended to include tenders on a steel alternative. To be acceptable the steel alternative had to show a substantial savings over the concrete design, inclusive of the future painting costs of a steel design. J. Anderson of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court noted in his decision: …the steel industry lobbied the Department to permit them to bid on the final phase of the construction and eventually it was agreed that parties be permitted to tender on a steel alternative. In the tender documents were special provisions: Barra Strait Crossing, Phase III, Contract 91-001, which indicates “Bidders on this contract are hereby advised that they will be permitted to submit