Motorists driving along Beach Road between Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven will cross a new Lagoon Pond drawbridge starting next week.

Traffic will shift from the current single-span bridge built in 1935 to a new metal bridge that is now nearly six years and some $9 million in the making.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, formerly known as MassHighway, had planned to open the bridge to traffic on the morning of New Year’s Eve, along with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by state, town and county officials. But a last-minute electrical problem with the new bridge will postpone the opening ceremony, most likely until sometime this week.

But the ceremony will not spell closure to the protracted efforts to replace the existing drawbridge that was built almost 75 years ago at a price of $80,000 (equivalent to some $1.23 million in today’s purchasing power).

That’s because the new bridge is only temporary; an entirely new permanent bridge is still scheduled to be built where the existing old bridge now stands. And all this can be traced to a complicated plan by the state to build two bridges to replace the single Lagoon Pond drawbridge.

A completion date of 2013 is set for the permanent bridge, according to state officials. And the cost of the permanent bridge is estimated at $24 million, pushing the total cost of the project to over $30 million. Funding will come entirely from the state department of transportation.

“We’re not done yet, not even halfway done yet,” said Melinda Loberg, chairman of the Island drawbridge committee. “But having this new [temporary] bridge is definitely a step in the right direction.”

She said work on the temporary bridge was completed nearly on time; the original timetable was to have the work completed in September. But as for the 2013 completion date on the permanent bridge, Ms. Loberg has her doubts. State transportation officials plan to host a public hearing on the Vineyard sometime in January, which is required when a project reaches the 25 per cent design phase. But she said that hearing should have been held six months ago. “If I just extrapolate the delays so far, they would equate to a delay of about one year to their current timetable,” she said.

She does believe that the permanent bridge will be built. Among other things, she said the temporary bridge has a short life span; a permit granted by U.S. Coast Guard for the bridge expires in 2013, although state officials can apply for an extension if needed. She also noted that the temporary bridge is not built for the long run. “Don’t get me wrong, it is a perfectly safe bridge that will be built to the safety standards of any other bridge. But it was never meant to be a permanent solution,” Ms. Loberg said.

She admitted that she was never a big fan of the two-bridge solution, although she understands why the state decided to do it that way. In the early planning stages years ago, state officials werereluctant to initiate an adverse taking of a small home that sits on the Vineyard Haven side of the drawbridge. Project pl anners had to design around the building, which likely added years and untold cost to the project. “At the time the person in charge of the bridge section said it wasn’t his philosophy to deal with people like that, and the homeowners didn’t realize what was in store . . . if they knew then what they know now, I think both sides might have approached things differently,” Ms. Loberg said.

As for the temporary bridge, construction crews already have lifted the center span and made sure all the cables and safety systems work properly. The minor electrical problem is expected to be resolved in the coming days. Dukes County manager Russell Smith said he expects the bridge to be open within the next two weeks at the latest.

Overall, Ms. Loberg said she is pleased with the look of the recently completed bridge, although she said the metallic structure is out of character with Lagoon Pond and the Island in general. But that could play to the Island’s favor. “The way I look at it, the uglier that [temporary] bridge, the less likely we will be looking at it five years from now. If people don’t like how it looks, that is more reason to build the permanent bridge,” Ms. Loberg said.