MINNEAPOLIS - The good news is that crews are ready to make the final repairs on the heavily used Martin Sabo bike and pedestrian bridge in southeast Minneapolis.
The bad news... the work will force some creative rerouting, as repairs will force the bridge to close to both bikers and walkers until work is complete in early December.
Crews will be installing and retrofitting diaphragm plates on the bridge's pylon. One of those plates fractured in February, causing a pair of suspension cables to break loose.
Consulting engineers hired to find the cause of the fracture concluded in June that vibrations triggered by the wind caused fatigue cracking in the diaphragm plates. That cracking resulted in two cable connections fracturing.
The replacement plates being installed are designed to withstand the fatigue that caused the cracking.
During the repairs bike and pedestrian traffic will be detoured to the intersection of 28th Street and Hiawatha Avenue.
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