The contract for an 8.4-mile bridge and causeway between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island — the so-called Fixed Link — was signed late last week.

The Fixed Link will cost more than $800 million and employ thousands during its construction. Its completion is set for the spring of 1997.

About 40 opponents of the project heckled the federal and provincial cabinet ministers present at a signing ceremony in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Opponents claim the bridge and causeway will have negative effects on the Northumberland Strait fishery and the livelihoods of many New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island fishermen.