Work to repair the corroded Plymouth Avenue Bridge, closed since October, 2010, is finally getting underway on Monday.
But the work means that the bridge, which has been closed to its typical daily traffic of more than 14,000 vehicles a day, also will be closed to foot and bike traffic until scheduled Oct. 15 completion of the first phase of work.
When the bridge reopens this fall, there still will be rerpairs to do, but they'll be able to happen with lane closures, according to the city'sDepartment of Public Works.
The bridge was closed after it was discovered that hollowed sections of box girders, held in place with cables, had been damaged by salty water. The moisture ate into the concrete as well as some of the cables. The damaged concrete and cables will be removed and replaced, first in the main span over the river this year. Similar work will happen for other spans in 2013.
The closing diverted traffic to other bridges, mainly the Broadway and Hennepin bridges. The closing came at a bad time because the Broadway bridge already has absorbed additional traffic diverted by the replacement of the Lowry Avenue Bridge, which is scheduled to reopen later this summer.
The city said late year that it hoped to have the bridge open by this month but a change in construction strategies slowed that schedule.
