Bryant Avenue footbridge closed, deemed unsafe

Updated: April 14, 2008 - 9:43 PM

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It isn't just highway bridges that are being closed to protect the public.

The graceful Bryant Avenue S. footbridge across Minnehaha Creek has been shut down by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board because of anchor-bolt rust and deteriorating concrete supports.

Walkers and bikers who out in spring-like weather have found the entrances to the bridge sealed.

The bridge was closed April 7 until further notice.

Paul Hokeness, an area manager for the Park Board, said city bridge inspectors were asked to look at the bridge after nearby residents complained that it had been swaying, particularly when a group of kids had been jumping on it recently, trying to make it rock.

There are alternate crossings a few blocks east and west, at Lyndale Avenue S. and Dupont Avenue S.

The 230-foot-long bridge was built in 1930 adjacent to a trolley bridge, which was torn down in the 1970s. The footbridge was renovated in the 1990s.

Hokeness said the board will get estimates for repair or replacement costs.

''We don't have the money to do either of those things," he said.

BILL MCauliffe