The impressive new bridge that will connect downtown Toronto to a brand new island finally arrived on the city's waterfront this weekend after a lengthy journey from the Atlantic Ocean — a journey that residents across the city have been following for days now.

Waterfront TO has been leading what it deemed #BridgeWatchTO as the modern red-and-white Cherry Street North bridge, fashioned with fancy Dutch materials, made its way to the city after being constructed 1,300 km away in Nova Scotia.

It is the first of four bridges that the city is installing to Villiers Island, the forthcoming land mass that will serve as an entirely new neighbourhood off Toronto's harbourfront.

Oh hi 🍒😍#BridgeWatchTO pic.twitter.com/DKwe1Lk6x7

— David Lussier (@d_a_f_f_y_d) November 9, 2020

Villiers is part of a massive $1.25-billion initiative to reroute the Don River and protect the city's Port Lands, and will by 2024 become its own mixed-use community with tons of new residential and commercial space — space for 45,000 residents, in fact — as well as 25 hectares of urban park space, including the city's biggest playground.

Snaking around the island will be the all-new, one-kilometre pathway for the Don River that will help to prevent the flooding that have all but destroyed the Toronto Islands in previous years, while the new island itself will be climate-positive, going beyond zero carbon emissions and relying on renewable energy.

 The stunning renderings of the completed endeavour show just how much it will change the city.

And meanwhile, a bridge in the making... pic.twitter.com/zuZ9XS1pEH

— Tudor ALEXIS 🚲 (@tudoralexis1) November 8, 2020

The urban space is just one example of how the City is working toward truly taking advantage of the underused industrial area's potential, and complements new parks, extended boardwalks, revamped underpass connections and trails along the waterfront.

The arrival of the bridge, which will now serve as a new landmark on the city's skyline, is an important milestone for the entire project.

So, understandably, it's not just engineering nerds who have gotten excited about its homecoming.

Wow! True dedication to #bridgewatchto Thanks for the photo https://t.co/noZSnFNP8E

— Waterfront Toronto (@WaterfrontTO) November 8, 2020

A quick look at the bridge watch hashtag shows just how amped people have been for the new bridge and all it signifies; among them, Mayor John Tory, who spoke at the Port Lands on Saturday.

"Hopefully people who are watching at home will take hope from this, they will take hope from the arrival of this iconic, beautiful bridge, of which there will be four connecting a brand new community... Hope that we can work together to get these things done and that the city has a bright future," he said.

"It's going to be exciting. It's going to be a great place for people to come and to live and to work and to play."

Got to see it, in the flesh!!@WaterfrontTO #bridgewatchto pic.twitter.com/oQL4LCOzNJ

— ʎsuɐʇ (@tansychau) November 9, 2020

"The arrival of this bridge signals that we are going to enter a new chapter. The pandemic is going to be over, we're going to resume our role as one of the most magnetic, attractive cities in the entire world," he continued.

"I'm just proud that we're here together to take this step, to have a waterfront like this that we can be extraordinarily proud of."