Fate shifts for Lowry Av. bridge

David Brewster, Star Tribune

The Lowry Avenue Bridge was closed in 2004 after an inspection found a section had shifted 11 inches off center. Now, officials say, that section is shifting faster.

Continuing structural problems have officials planning to close the Minneapolis span again.

By JIM FOTI, Star Tribune

Last update: April 16, 2008 - 12:57 AM

Print this story

Follow local news on Twitter

Minnesota bridges rated: An interactive map of bridges that are "structurally deficient," "functionally obsolete" or have gusset plates like those on the I-35W bridge.

More from Local + Metro

Structural problems could shut down a bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis for the second time in four years -- and quite possibly for good.

A section of the Lowry Avenue Bridge is shifting faster than it used to, and once its bearings reach a certain spot -- perhaps as soon as this summer -- Hennepin County is likely to close the bridge until it's replaced.

The county and a consulting firm -- Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates -- are about to install monitors that will give live updates on the movement at what's known as Pier 3. The plan is to have the devices in place in the next two or three weeks, before warmer weather causes steel on the bridge to expand, Jacob Bronder, the county's lead engineer for the bridge, said Tuesday.

The devices will transmit data much like a cell phone, Bronder said, giving the county a way to monitor any microscopic movements when inspectors aren't on the site.

Start work in 2009?

The bridge, which connects north and northeast Minneapolis, was rebuilt in 1958, using its original 1905 piers and making them 20 feet taller. The county's current goal is to begin construction of a replacement bridge in October 2009 and finish in late 2011.

Wiss, Janney's profile in Minnesota has risen because of its role in the investigation of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, but Bronder said the vigilance on the Lowry bridge was not related to the collapse.

"This would have happened regardless of the 35W incident," he said. "I think we're kind of getting grouped with that ... supersensitive concern."

The Lowry bridge was closed for a year after an inspection in 2004 found that Pier 3 had shifted 11 inches off center.

Bronder said a preliminary review of the bridge's design shows that its gusset plates were properly engineered. The plates will get a closer look when the monitor devices are installed.

Looking for money

Hennepin County Commissioner Mark Stenglein said the hunt is still on for state and federal money for a replacement, which is expected to cost "in excess of $100 million."

Stenglein has a fondness for the aging span.

"When I was a little boy, going over that bridge was always exciting" because of the unusual see-through steel grate deck, he said. "Now it's exciting to make sure you make it across."

He's hopeful that the bridge's woes will attract sufficient interest at the State Capitol and in Washington.

"A gusset plate on the [Hwy.] 23 bridge up in St. Cloud is a quarter of an inch off," he said, referring to the recently closed and soon-to-be-replaced DeSoto Bridge. "Criminy, I got a pier that's a foot off."

Jim Foti • 612-673-4491