"Just as it was in 1923, this bridge opening is being celebrated as an historic day for Innisfail", Mayor Bill Shannon said.

"The whole community has got behind this. Innisfail has been split in two for the past 14 months since the old Jubilee Bridge was closed because of safety risks and the new bridge's construction began. The old Jubilee Bridge was a town landmark for 87 years. We are expecting our new Jubilee Bridge, with its significantly deeper piles and with new technology, to be a landmark for much longer."

The Jubilee Bridge project includes new bridge approaches and roundabouts on either side, which were also opened today. The Cassowary Coast Regional Council has committed $7.25M to the project. The State Government allocated $14.3M.

"Without the State Government's commitment this project would never have been possible," Cr Shannon said. "The completion of this project is a significant milestone in addressing one of the key infrastructure challenges inherited by the Cassowary Coast Regional Council."

"The bridge contractors BMD-Albem and Council officers have worked hard to achieve this outcome and should be congratulated on the finished product."

Today's bridge-opening festivities began with a community Breakfast by the Bridge. Three vintage cars, one of them carrying Premier Anna Bligh, were the first vehicles to cross the bridge, as a tribute to the original Jubilee Bridge, built in the year of Jubilee celebrations marking 50 years since the discovery of the Johnstone River and the subsequent town settlement.

Members of the public were encouraged to walk the bridge before it opened to vehicular traffic today.

Cr Shannon said the community had come out in force to celebrate.

"Community groups put on breakfast and morning tea, people dressed in art deco costume, we had live performances, there was an official cake-cutting and memorabilia from the old bridge on offer to the public at an Innisfail Historical Society marquee. With the subsequent official opening of the Tully Multi-Purpose Centre, it has been a big day for the Cassowary Coast region."

Jubilee Bridge - Facts and Figures:

• The new Jubilee Bridge is three times wider than the original Jubilee Bridge (with two lanes for vehicles, 1.5m shoulders and a 3m shared cycle and pedestrian pathway) and has significantly deeper piles, some of them 30m.
• The new bridge has been built about five metres upstream.
• The bridge replaces the original Jubilee Bridge, built in 1923 to replace a two-wagon ferry service. At the time of building, the old Jubilee Bridge was the largest reinforced concrete traffic bridge constructed in Queensland. It was 5.5m wide and 121.9m long, made with 365.6 tonnes of cement and 406.4 tonnes of steel. (The new bridge is 15.8m wide, 113.5m long and made with 1360 tonnes of cement and 630 tonnes of steel.)
• The original bridge replaced a ferry service which began in the 1880s. This was the only means of communications between Innisfail residents and those residents in East Innisfail and Mourilyan. The service was often disrupted during high rainfall and flooding. In 1911 a bridge to replace the ferry service was approved but the project was deferred for almost a decade.
• The original Jubilee Bridge was closed to traffic in July 2010 due to its rapid deterioration, and was demolished in August 2011.
• Before the old bridge's demolition, attached water and sewerage mains and telecommunication cables needed to be relocated. They are now beneath the river.
• The new bridge has been constructed over a 14-month period.
• A 250-tonne crane with a 50m boom and 114 tonne counterweight was set up in parkland during the new bridge's construction, to drive piles into the riverbed.
• At the peak of the project there were up to 85 workers on-site at a time.
• After public consultation, the new bridge was named Jubilee Bridge in honour of the original bridge, which takes its name from Jubilee celebrations in 1923 to mark 50 years since the discovery of the Johnstone River and the town's subsequent settlement.