The North Shore casino is back from the brink.

Rescuing the riverfront venue from a possible bankruptcy, an ownership group led by Chicago billionaire Neil Bluhm closed on $555 million in financing yesterday, clearing the way for construction to resume for the first time since June 30.

Some workers were back on the job yesterday. Construction should be going full tilt by the end of the week, said Dan Fee, spokesman for Holdings Acquisition Co., which was formed by Mr. Bluhm to take over the troubled project.

The company hopes to get the casino completed by next August, about three months later than the timetable set by Detroit businessman Don Barden before he relinquished control of the slots parlor to Mr. Bluhm's group.

"With the closing of the financing, we are excited to restart construction immediately and build and operate a world-class facility of which Pittsburghers can be proud," said Greg Carlin, Holdings Acquisition's chief executive officer.

Mr. Bluhm and his group received approval from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board last week to take over the $780 million project from Mr. Barden, who couldn't secure permanent financing for the casino and defaulted on a $200 million loan used to start construction.

By the time work stopped at the site near the Carnegie Science Center June 30, contractors were owed more than $50 million. With yesterday's closing, Holdings Acquisition "will move quickly" to pay those firms, it said in a statement.

It can't come soon enough for some.

Rich Stanizzo, business manager of the Pittsburgh Building and Construction Trades Council, said there were contractors "in jeopardy of not being able to continue" on the job because of financial pressures created by nonpayments.

"Some of those guys were past their lines of credit," he said. "They needed this money to operate their business -- not this job, their business."

Dean Mosites, president of the building division of Mosites Construction Co., which is doing casino concrete work, said at one point it "was questionable" whether contractors would ever be paid for the work they did. He said some are owed more than $10 million.

The investment group, led by Walton Street Capital, a company co-founded by Mr. Bluhm, "saved the day, really," he added.

"This is a great day. I got an e-mail earlier today saying they had closed and the money would be wired. I'm just waiting for the controller to come into my office to say we got it. I just have to hear those words," he said.

Mr. Stanizzo said contractors will be facing a "horrendous" schedule when they get back on the job. More than two million man-hours of work remains, and it could take two shifts a day to complete the job in a year.

"That's a yeoman's task," Mr. Mosites said. "It's going to take some schedule acceleration. Whether it's working Saturdays or doing some double-shift work, we don't know yet. But something is going to be required."

Holdings Acquisition estimated that more than 2,000 workers will be involved in the construction.

As part of the takeover, Mr. Bluhm's group will put $205 million in cash into the project. Financing completed yesterday includes $405 million from a syndicate of lenders led by Credit Suisse and $150 million from a syndicate put together by KeyBank of Detroit. Two Detroit pension funds are guaranteeing the $150 million.

Another $20 million will be spent on slot machines.

Mr. Bluhm has agreed to keep the commitments Mr. Barden made to fund the replacement for Mellon Arena at $7.5 million a year for 30 years and provide $3 million each to the Hill District and Northside Leadership Conference for redevelopment and community initiatives.

He also has pledged to finish a 1,000-seat outdoor amphitheater, boat docks and other riverfront amenities as part of the casino construction. Mr. Barden had proposed deferring them for three years after the casino opening.

With the transfer of the Pittsburgh slots license to Mr. Bluhm's group, Mr. Barden will go from owning 81 percent of the casino to 20 percent. He will sit on the casino management committee but will have no controlling voice.

The casino will start with 3,000 slot machines and expand to 5,000 if market conditions warrant it. There also will be four restaurants, four bars and a lounge.

Holdings Acquisition estimates the casino will generate $1.1 billion in taxes for the state in the first five years of operation and $49 million each for the city and county.