Plans for a new Lowry Bridge forge ahead
By: Marky Wagner 03/01/2008
At the third (of three) public open house meetings held on February 25 at Eastside Neighborhood Services, Hennepin County unveiled the preliminary “Signature” design for the new Lowry Avenue Bridge.
The current bridge was built in 1905 and remodeled in 1958. Concerns over the bridge’s structure were raised in 2004 when it was closed for painting and repairs, and one of the existing piers was found to be approximately 11 inches out of alignment. The bridge has been inspected monthly since 2005. Hennepin County, after review by a consulting firm, has deemed the bridge structurally sound and is monitoring the pier in question for further movement. The county will also be installing electronic sensors for real-time evaluation of the existing structure. The county had looked at replacing the piers but the cost was estimated at $50 million and the end result would be a 50-year-old steel truss bridge sitting on new piers. So the County Board of Commissioners approved the Lowry Avenue Bridge replacement project as its No.1 state bonding request last June.
After engineering reviews of numerous bridge designs Hennepin County project manager Jim Grube presented the county’s concept for the “Signature” design for the new structure to the public at the February meeting. The bridge design team is a consortium of Hennepin County, SRF Consulting and Tylin International. They were influenced by other existing bridges in the area that have incorporated arches such as the new Hennepin Avenue, the 3rd Avenue and the Franklin Avenue Bridges.
The new bridge will consist of a 440 foot “basket handle arch” centered on the river with 200 foot box girder approaches from each end. The design of the approach on the west end will tie into the existing 2nd Street intersection, but will incorporate a future expansion to Washington Avenue, if and when the Minneapolis Park Board acquires land as part of their Above the Falls land usage plan. The design of the east end approach will accommodate a future walking and bike path at the river’s edge. The new bridge will incorporate two driving lanes and combination bike and breakdown lanes in each direction. Twelve foot wide sidewalks with “look outs” curving around the twin arches will be part of the design.
The schedule calls for preliminary plans to be completed by June 2008. An environmental impact study is ongoing and is expected to take about a year. Final plans and specifications will be completed by May 2009 and land acquisition for additional right of way will take place. Bids on construction will be accepted mid-summer 2009. Construction of the replacement for the current Lowry Avenue Bridge is anticipated to begin in fall 2009, with completion in November 2011.
The estimated cost for removal of the existing structure and new construction is budgeted at $109 million. Hennepin County has budgeted $12 million, with the state contributing $24 million and the remaining $75 million to come from the federal government. The 2008 state legislature included $50 million for county bridge repair in their transportation bill passed in February, but this money is not yet earmarked for any specific projects. For info and drawings of the bridge plan visit www.lowrybridge.com or contact project manager Jacob Bronder at jacob.co.hennepin.mn.us or 612-596-0372.