History was made in Victoria's Inner Harbour as the bridge residents have waited more than a decade for raised fully into the sky for the first time.

The new Johnson Street Bridge underwent testing on Tuesday, with its span raised to its maximum lift position – a 77-degree angle.

There were no major glitches in the test run, meaning the bridge appears to be on track to open by the city's stated deadline of March 31.

Over the next several weeks, crews will pour a concrete slab on the deck while a team of engineers continue testing the bridge.

Despite the project's history of delays, project manager Jonathan Huggett says he expects it will be ready for traffic by the end of next month.

"Nothing in engineering is guaranteed, but at the moment I'm pretty confident," said Huggett.

The bridge was initially scheduled to be completed in 2015 on a $63-million budget. The budget has since risen to $105-million.