Call it a soft launch. Starting in mid-May, the 3rd Avenue bridge connecting southeast Minneapolis and downtown will be reduced to one travel lane in each direction. Then, in January, the bridge spanning the Mississippi River will be closed to all traffic as the Minnesota Department of Transportation gives the historic structure its first major repair in more than 40 years.
When the top-to-bottom face-lift is complete in November 2022, the concrete arch bridge with its distinctive S-curve just north of St. Anthony Falls will look a lot like it did when it opened 102 years ago, with a few modern touches, said project manager Chris Hoberg.
"We want to put back what was there before," he said. "We want to honor its history."
The $120 million restoration includes installation of a new bridge deck with a sidewalk divided into lanes for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Each of the five arches and piers that anchor the 2,200-foot-long bridge to the riverbed will be repaired. Concrete columns will be removed and replaced with a decorative design compatible with what was in place before the last restoration, in 1979. The Art Deco ornamental railing will be restored and lighting conforming with the bridge's original design installed.
The bridge, built for about $650,000 according to a story that appeared in the June 18, 1915, Minneapolis Tribune, was considered a significant engineering feat at the time. Its curved alignment was necessary to avoid setting piers on limestone breaks in the river, according to a MnDOT publication, "Historic Features Report for Bridge 2440." Just before its June 1918 opening, the Tribune wrote that the reinforced concrete bridge would be "practically everlasting,"
Not quite.
"Steel and concrete does not last forever," Hoberg said.