Detail design approved for Lowry Avenue Bridge replacement
08/01/2008
The Hennepin County Board approved the county Transportation Department’s request to negotiate a contract with SRF Consulting Group Inc. for detail design of the Lowry Avenue Bridge replacement and authorized preparation of plans to remove the existing bridge. The bridge carries County State Aid Highway 153 over the Mississippi River between north and northeast Minneapolis.
On April 25 the county closed the bridge because of safety concerns generated by known structural issues with one of the piers, Pier 3. On May 22 the bridge’s sufficiency rating was formally reduced from 43.0 to 22.7, based on further movement of Pier 3 and the bridge’s closed status. Residents are warned not to circumvent the fencing and barriers restricting even pedestrian access to the bridge; these barricades have been installed for public safety purposes.
The county continues to monitor the bridge using recently installed real-time data acquisition instrumentation. The U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, as oversight agencies of the Mississippi River and its navigation channel, are being provided structure status updates on a regular basis.