The provincial government and the Halifax-area municipalities could not reach agreement on which site was best, so the province asked the bridge commission to make a decision.

The first construction contract; for the bridge piers, abutments, and cable anchorages; was signed with Halifax contractor Robert McAlpine Ltd. in April 1967.

A sod-turning ceremony, marking the beginning of construction, was carried out on 29 June 1967 by Nova Scotia premier Robert Stanfield.

[4] The Adhesive Engineering Company, based in San Carlos, California, was awarded the contract to apply an epoxy asphalt surface to the bridge's orthotropic deck.

[4] The bridge was formally inaugurated by premier George Isaac Smith, in the company of lieutenant governor Victor de Bedia Oland, on 10 July 1970 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that began at 2:30 pm at the Dartmouth toll station.

A decision was made to finance the construction of the bridge with low-interest loans denominated in foreign currencies, saving money in the short term and allowing the tolls to be kept low.

It also concluded that certain elements of the original design such as tight tolerance on the load capacity, and the emergence since the bridge was first built of a better understanding about fatigue in orthotropic decks, would make a re-decking project similar to the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge "Big Lift" impractical: To meet current code, a new deck would weigh more.

The Burnside Business Park, the Mic Mac Mall shopping centre, and several residential developments in the Albro Lake neighbourhood in Dartmouth's north end during the 1970s are directly attributable to the bridge's construction.