KIRKLAND – The Hortense Street Bridge has reopened, ending the mile-long detour some Kirkland residents had to take for trips downtown and to schools for about two years.

The bridge west of the intersection of Hortense and Sixth streets cost about $800,000 to repair. The cost was split among federal, county and local funds with Kirkland picking up 20 percent of the cost, about $160,000.

Village President Les Bellah said that although the project exhausted the village’s motor fuel tax fund – leaving few resources for road maintenance in the coming months – the bridge will end the sense of isolation for residents in the southwest areas of town, such as the Colonial Estate subdivision.