It was an afternoon of muted celebration and steady traffic on Margaret Avenue.

The section of Margaret between Victoria and Breithaupt streets was open to vehicles for the first time since June 2013, when city engineers discovered that it could collapse without warning.

The bridge, which was built from the same design as one in Quebec which did collapse, was demolished.

Work then started on a new bridge, only to be delayed when the province promised an increase in GO Transit service and purchased the tracks under the bridge – prompting the city to take another look at what rail traffic would be able to fit underneath.

While the new bridge isn’t 100 per cent complete, it’s close enough that city officials decided to reopen that section of Margaret at 2 p.m. Friday.

“I think many people are going to be really thrilled to see it opening today,” Mayor Berry Vrbanovic said at the site.

“It’s such an important connection.”

Among the people happy to see the new bridge open was Johnny Nguyen, who owns a hair salon at the corner of Margaret and Victoria.

He said he hasn’t lost a significant amount of business from the closure, but did have to deal with “lots of damage” around the property from construction work.

“I just hope that the city will take full responsibility for what they’ve done,” he said.

Business was hit harder at Mei King restaurant on Margaret.

“We (lost) lots of customers,” said owner Ying Chau.

The total cost of the demolition and rebuild is estimated at $4.6 million.