2:00 pm.Thousands of people waited for hours in bumper to bumper traffic to share in the excitement of the opening of the Barra Strait Bridge. They have been waiting for this moment for 15 years. The C. Monty MacMillan made its last crossing at 1:40 pm on 23 October 1993. The new Barra Strait Bridge opened 20 minutes later, at 2:00 pm, 23 October 1993. Final cost The final cost of the bridge was $34.8 million, which included the two approaches, the superstructure, an overpass over the rail lines, and paving. Operating cost The annual operating cost of the moveable span structure at the Barra Strait is $115,000. This value accounts for the operator salaries and for typical annual maintenance. Marine traffic Boat traffic through the Barra Strait has been logged since 1991, and has consistently ranged between 1700 and 2100 boats passing through the swing and bascule bridges each year, with a peak of 2100 passages recorded for 2002. Of these movements, an estimated 2% are commercial activity, 8% are government and 90% are recreational. When the bascule span is opened for marine traffic the resulting channel is wide and deep. While the Barra Strait is considerably deeper at the bridges, channel depth is limited to by the presence of the wreck of the Zealandia which rests on the bottom of the strait, lying directly across the channel passage through the bridges. The Zealandia was originally built as a 3 masted, full-rigged clipper with an iron hull by C. Connell and Co. in Glasgow in 1869. She was later converted to a barge and used to carry dolomite to the Dominion Iron and Steel Company steel plant in Sydney. In July 1916 the Zealandia broke her tow during a gale and sank after crashing into the Barra Strait railway bridge. The wreck is 220 ft long by 40 ft wide and at the stern, it rises 30 ft off the bottom. The navigation season for the Barra Strait Bridge opens on 1 May each year and runs through to the last day of October each year. From 1 May each year the bridge tender is available to open the bridge for marine traffic from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm each day. Hours are extended from the last week of June through to the Labour Day weekend, when the bridge operates 24 hours a day. During operating hours the Barra