MINNEAPOLIS — If you're one of the thousands of people who cross the Mississippi River everyday using the Third Avenue Bridge, get ready for two years of detours.
The historic span is being closed to traffic beginning Monday, Jan. 4, as part of MnDOT's $130 million renovation project - an effort to make it safer and easier to use for all kinds of traffic.
"We know it’s an inconvenience to have that bridge closed for as long as it’s going to be closed, but we do need to take care of it," David Aeikens of MnDOT told KARE.
"It’s an iconic structure. It’s 102 years old. It definitely needs some work."
The bridge links Third Avenue in downtown Minneapolis with Central Avenue in northeast Minneapolis and carries an average traffic count of 20,000 vehicles per day. It's in MnDOT's network because it's also part of Minnesota Highway 65.
Vehicle traffic will be rerouted to the Hennepin Avenue/First Avenue bridge just upstream, while bicycles and pedestrians will be able to cross on the nearby Stone Arch Bridge.
Contractors will replace the bridge deck, enhance lighting, restore side railings, repair deteriorating concrete and create separate pathways for bicyclists and pedestrians. That will all happen while preserving the historic integrity of the 1918 structure.
"We are paying great attention to the history of this great bridge, and we will be doing everything we can working with our own historians to ensure that the history and the look of this bridge is maintained as we fix it," Aeikins remarked.
According to MnDOT's research the distinctive ribbed arches were formed with steel, but covered in concrete to adhere to the city's architectural standards at the time. Engineers had to add the S curve in the bridge because of trouble planting some of the piers in the river below.
The contractors will keep that look with the restored bridge, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Sites in 1971 just prior to the last major repairs. In some older postcards it's referred to as the "Saint Anthony Falls Bridge" because it straddles a portion of those cascading waters.
"We appreciate people’s support and patience on this. We’ll get that open as soon as we can," Aeikins explained.
"This project is going to give us another 50 years on this bridge, so we won’t have to come back to this major work for another 50 years."