HARBIN - A highway bridge connecting China and Russia over the Heilongjiang River will start construction Saturday, about 28 years after it was first proposed, local authorities announced Thursday.

The 19.9-kilometer highway bridge, the first connecting the two countries, stretches from Heihe, a border town in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, to the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk.

At an estimated cost of 2.47 billion yuan ($355.6 million), the bridge will open to traffic in October 2019, according to Pan Yang, an official at Heilongjiang traffic department.

Governments from both sides plan to set up a joint venture company to take charge of operation, maintenance and toll fee management, said Tian Lin, head of Heilongjiang Highway Construction Bureau.