The ebb and flow of public support for a fixed link was indirectly tied to the varying levels of federal investment in ferry and steamship connections to the province over the years, finally culminating in a proposal in the mid-1980s which resulted in the construction of the current bridge.

[8]Following Confederation, early steamship services across Northumberland Strait connected the Island ports of Charlottetown and Georgetown with railway facilities at Pictou, Nova Scotia.

This plan was rejected for navigational reasons but was raised again in 1962, and in 1965, the federal government, ignoring concerns of the shipping industry, called for tenders for a $148 million fixed link featuring a tunnel/causeway/bridge.

Approach roads and railway lines were constructed at Borden and Jourimain Island but the project was formally abandoned in 1969 upon scientific recommendation in favour of improved ferry services.

The federal government favoured the construction of a fixed link chiefly because of the rising costs of providing ferry service (a constitutional requirement dating from PEI's accession to Confederation) and the increasing deficits being incurred by the railway system on PEI (run as part of Canadian National, then a Crown corporation).

Following the election of the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney, with its agenda for regional development through so-called "mega-projects," Public Works Canada called for formal proposals in 1987 and received three offers.

These developments sparked an extremely divisive debate on the Island, and Premier Joe Ghiz promised a plebiscite to gauge public support, which was held on January 18, 1988.

During the plebiscite debate, the anti-link group Friends of the Island cited potential ecological damage from the construction, as well as concerns about the impact on Prince Edward Island's lifestyle in general, and noted that the "mega-project" model has had limited success in other areas of the world, and rarely enriched the local population.

The pro-link group Islanders for a Better Tomorrow noted transportation reliability would result in improvements for exporters and the tourism industry.

The debate did not end with the 1988 plebiscite and the federal government faced numerous legal challenges and a lengthy environmental impact assessment for the project.

Approach roads, toll plazas, and final work on the structure continued until the spring of 1997, at an estimated total cost of $1 billion.

Extremely durable high-grade concrete and reinforcing steel were used throughout construction of the pre-cast components, with the estimated lifespan of the bridge being in excess of 100 years.

Their sheer size and weight required strengthening of the soil base during the design and preparation work for the Amherst Head staging facility, as well as the use of a crawler transport system to move pieces from fabrication to storage, and onto a nearby pier.

Construction of the fixed link required over 5,000 workers ranging from labourers and specialty trades, to engineers, surveyors, and managers.

[12] The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, during a state visit to Canada in 1998, referred to the bridge as the "Span of Green Gables".

In separate construction, the federal and provincial governments built a new commercial and tourist development on the abandoned CN rail yards in Borden-Carleton, with phase I of this facility opening in spring 1997 as "Gateway Village".

New Brunswick has never received similar federal support to improve the economy of Cape Tormentine, which has become a shadow of its former role in PEI transportation history, although in recent years a new eco-tourist and visitor centre was opened on Jourimain Island near the western end of the bridge.

The official opening for the bridge took place on May 31, 1997, with the first vehicle traffic crossing at approximately 5:00 p.m. ADT following a nationally televised ceremony which aired on CBC and included a sailpast of the schooner Bluenose II and several Canadian Coast Guard ships, a flyover by the Snowbirds, and an emotional farewell to the beloved ferries which made their final crossings that evening.

The consortium has rarely commented upon the profitability of the bridge, but during the structure's 10th anniversary, it was revealed that there had been a 30% cost overrun in construction ($330 million).

The consortium is forced to cover this out of toll revenue since the federal government ferry subsidy is used to pay for the original tendered price ($1 billion).

Toll revenues have fallen over 30% since the bridge opened, largely because of declining tourism traffic and domestic travel and currently range from $25 to $30 million annually.

[18] The number of tourists visiting Prince Edward Island increased from 740,000 in 1996 (the year before the bridge opened) to 1,200,000 in 1997,[19] but this dropped back to about 900,000 visitors annually.

As a way of further promoting the island's new accessibility, the province issued vehicle licence plates from 1999 to 2006 that featured a likeness of the Confederation Bridge amid the serial number.