Closing the Craigflower Bridge to vehicle traffic while a new structure is built will mean six months of inconvenience, but that's better than stretching the agony out over 18 months. The long-term gain will be worth the short-term pain.

The new $10-million bridge is a joint project of View Royal and Saanich, and will be a welcome replacement for the 78-year-old structure that is showing unmistakable signs of age.

It handles about 18,000 vehicles a day, including 1,500 trucks that weigh about twice as much as trucks did when the bridge was built in the 1930s. Traffic funnels across it in two narrow lanes, the support beams are creaking and the deck is worn. Keeping it open with its current capacity is not an option.

During the planning stages, the two municipalities involved pondered a partial shutdown but that would have lengthened the construction time to at least 18 months.

Support was overwhelming for getting it completed as quickly as possible. That's the wise approach - the easiest way to repaint the inside of a house is to get the whole family out.

The new bridge looks to the future - it will be twice as big as the old one with three vehicle lanes, one northbound and two southbound, as well as generous bicycle and pedestrian lanes. But increased capacity will potentially bring increased problems. Better access will likely attract more traffic - especially trucks - through the surrounding neighbourhood. It could very well substantiate the cliché, "Build it and they will come."

And a sleek new bridge could tempt some heavy-footed drivers to take it up a notch or two.

A case in point is the Admirals Road bridge over Colquitz Creek, completed in 2009. The construction period, which involved a complete closure, was a hassle but the job got done and the result was a better flow of traffic for motorists.

But it hasn't been all roses, according to Rob Wickson of the Gorge Tillicum Community Association. He pointed out in a recent Times Colonist opinion article that the wider, better Colquitz bridge has resulted in an increase in traffic and speeding through adjoining neighbourhoods.

He warned, with understandable concern, that the new Craigflower Bridge could bring similar problems to the surrounding areas. That traffic will flow right past nearby Craigflower Elementary School, another reason to ensure that speed limits and design take into consideration the well-being of all.

Keeping traffic moving smoothly and efficiently is important, especially as the region grows. But the project's design should go beyond the bridge and its approaches to ensure upgrading a structure does not degrade the community's quality of life.

Looking again to the metaphor of renovating a house - if you replace one section of water pipe, you'd better make sure the rest of the plumbing can handle the increased pressure.