A recent inspection of the Kellogg Blvd.-3rd Street bridge in downtown St. Paul revealed that 30-year-old bridge is structrually deficient and that its outer lanes are not able to support current traffic levels.
As a result, traffic will be restricted to the bridge's center lanes starting Monday, city officials said. The bridge links downtown St. Paul with Dayton's Bluff.
This is not going to be a minor inconvenience for people as we work through the immediate and long-term challenges of redirecting traffic within the city," said Council President Lantry. "In terms of the financial impact, we are working in collaboration with our county, state and federal partners to identify funding sources to build a new bridge as soon as possible."
Here is the immediate impact on commuters: The bridge will close at 9 a.m. Friday. Public Works crews will use this time to restripe the bridge, put up new signage and other traffic devices. Signal timing also will be modified, the City said.
It will reopen at 6 a.m. Monday with traffic restricted to three lanes with a narrower path for pedestrians and cyclists to share.
"It's important for residents to understand that using the bridge remains safe and that the lane restrictions are the only immediately-required response to the findings," said City Engineer John Maczko. "That said, the Kellogg-Third Street Bridge is a critically important arterial street and there is not a sufficient long-term alternative route. We need to move quickly."
