It comes as the section just up from the north end of the bridge is becoming real-estate central

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After what seems like an interminably long wait, one of Vancouver's major entry points into the downtown is fully functional today.

Mayor Gregor Robertson, engineering head honcho Jerry Dobrovolny, and heritage consultant Donald Luxton will talk to the media at the northeast end of the Burrard Bridge at 2:30 p.m. today about the "reopening" of the 85-year-old structure.

The rehabilitated bridge has restored lamp posts, concrete handrails, sidewalks, and no more concrete barriers restricting motor-vehicle traffic to one lane southbound.

It's all part of a $35-million plan approved more than two years ago.

Starting today, there are four lanes for traffic on the six-lane art deco masterpiece. The two outside lanes are reserved for cyclists.

The extensive upgrade frees up the eastern sidewalk for pedestrians, who sometimes used it anyway even when it was set aside exclusive for cyclists.

There are also new suicide-prevention barriers on the bridge.

The bridge improvements come just as the Burrard Street section north of the bridge has turned into Vancouver's next big real-estate play.

Province Health Care is developing a new hospital at False Creek Flats and downgrading St. Paul's Hospital. This will mean fewer sirens and fewer sick people in this part of town, and more appealing prospects for developers.

The Jim Pattison Group and Reliance Properties are developing Burrard Place on 27 lots around Pattison's former Toyota dealership. The $500-million mixed-used development includes 54-storey and 35-storey residential towers, as well as a 13-storey office building.

Meanwhile, Westbank has won council's approval for two buildings, including a 57-storey tower, at the First Baptist Church site across the street from the Wall Centre.

And at Davie and Burrard streets, the Esso station has been closed permanently to make way for a new real-estate development. Colliers has marketed the property as "a high profile mixed-use development site".

On the south side of the bridge, Concord Pacific has bought the Molson brewery, which is on land zoned for industrial purposes.

It remains to be seen what's going to happen at that side when the beer maker moves out.

But we shouldn't be surprised if a vastly improved bridge with cycling lanes going in both directions makes its way into some of the real-estate agents' sales pitches. That's because publicly financed projects like this invariably have a way of fattening the bottom lines of savvy billionaires in the private sector.