Since the opening, the river improved significantly, surpassing original expectations for the project. An AMEC engineer participating in the firm's studies, Jacques Paynter, said that the banks of the river had begun widening "at a noticeable pace", with the tidal bore growing closer to its pre-1968 levels: "We were actually anticipating a fairly modest increase in height. It seems to be already exceeding what we might have expected." He noted that an estimated 40,000 gaspereau had returned to the river, and called for more studies to determine the impact of the causeway's opening.