Old Cedar Av. bridge is Bloomington's albatross

As the debate over what to do with the Old Cedar Avenue bridge in Bloomington drags on, frustrated city officials are threatening to drop the project entirely.

They say they may just let the bridge rot.

"This was a bridge that was foisted on us ... so there's a definite limit in what the city is willing to invest," said Karl Keel, the city's director of public works. If there is no solution soon that city officials feel they can afford -- and so far project costs are only escalating as outside parties try to require preservation of the old span -- "it is likely the city will do nothing," Keel said.

Bloomington has owned the bridge since 1981, when the state Department of Transportation (MnDOT) gave it to the city. City officials have regretted accepting the gift ever since.

While the city has gathered $4.5 million from various sources to replace the span, the structure's historic status and strings attached to federal money committed to the project mean it probably will have to be restored rather than replaced. And that could more than double the cost of construction and add greatly to long-term maintenance expenses.

Stretching 865 feet from the end of Old Cedar Avenue across Long Meadow Lake in the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, the 1920 bridge was closed to vehicle traffic in 1993. It remained open for almost another decade as a connector between Hennepin and Dakota counties for bicyclists as well as for hikers and bird watchers. But because of its deteriorating condition it was closed in 2002.

Seeking restoration money

Separate efforts by Bloomington and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get federal stimulus money for the bridge have failed. At the state Legislature, Sen. Jim Carlson, of Eagan, is trying to change language tied to $2 million in bonding authority approved last year for a replacement bridge so the money can be used for restoration, too.

Last month, Keel and Bloomington City Council Member Steve Elkins visited with federal authorities in Washington, as well as staff in Rep. Jim Oberstar's office to discuss the bridge. Elkins said that while he sensed "sympathy and open-mindedness" among people there, the city is effectively paralyzed because it doesn't have the money to carry out the restoration.

"I wouldn't expect my City Council to go forward unless we have a new owner" for the bridge, Elkins said. "We want a partner or partners to take that on."

While the $4.5 million the city has cobbled together is enough to tear down and replace the bridge, the steel "camelback-through-truss" bridge is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

About $1.1 million of the money the city has to fix the bridge is from the federal government, so the city also has run up against federal rules that may require the money to be used to renovate rather than replace the span.

The cost of a full bridge restoration is estimated at $9.9 million. A less ambitious renovation that would replace floor beams and timber decking and repair piers would cost $5.8 million.

"All of those alternatives would meet the historic requirements and would have no adverse effect on the historical integrity of the bridge," said Beth Kunkel, project manager for Kimley Horn and Associates engineering in St. Paul, which prepared a draft feasibility study on rehabbing the bridge.

It is up to the Federal Highway Administration to determine whether renovating the bridge is "feasible and prudent." Since the bridge has historic status and their office is legally charged with protecting such structures, they may have little choice in advocating renovation rather than replacement. Officials in the administration's St. Paul office referred questions to Doug Hecox, a spokesperson in Washington. Hecox said officials in St. Paul say "it is reasonable and prudent to repair it and rehab it. But it's an ongoing thing. We're continuing to work with all the parties."

Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380