The bridge, which was originally predicted to cost $35 million to build, ended up costing more than $100 million. Many of the issues are reported to have been caused by orders of Chinese-made steel, which had a number of non-conformities that required to be addressed. One issue involved the girders for the bridge, which were made of Japanese steel but were ordered by the city from China because it was cheaper. This led to some criticism that Mayor Daley had put price before quality when choosing construction materials. The main span of the bridge is approximately 750 feet long and consists of four 50-foot-long girders connected by two 90-foot-long suspenders. The main purpose of the bridge is to connect the Near North Side with the Lakeview District. It does not carry any traffic signals or street lights, as those functions are provided by the surrounding infrastructure in both neighborhoods. The project was announced by the City of Chicago in January 1973 and was expected to be completed in about one year. However, due to various issues reported by reporters who visited the site during construction, such as uncoordinated contract changes, property damage, and late delivery of materials, the completion date was pushed back several times. The final cost of the bridge was estimated by city officials to be between $150,000 and $200,000 per foot, which at the time was considered very expensive.