Minneapolis hopes to reopen the Martin Olav Sabo Bridge by June 4, officials said this week.
Sabo Bridge near reopening
Bike/pedestrian span over Hiawatha Av. should be reopened by June 4. It has been closed three months since support cables fell.
May 17, 2012 at 1:50AM
The bicycle and pedestrian span over Hiawatha Avenue S. has been closed for three months, after the fracture of a steel anchor led the bridge's tallest set of cables to fall from its mast on Feb. 19.
A second set of cables was removed after inspectors discovered cracks on another anchor.
The cables are not expected to be replaced by the time the bridge reopens. To make the bridge safe for public use, the city must adjust shoring structures beneath it and release tension from the cables anchored to the ground, according to Heidi Hamilton, the city's deputy public works director.
The engineering consulting firm Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates is coming up with a proposed repair, and the bridge could be closed again once workers begin putting up new cables, Hamilton said.
The city is still awaiting an anchor-failure assessment from a Lehigh University expert hired by Wiss, Janney, Elstner.
Expenses have piled up. Hamilton said the city has spent $420,000 to respond to the bridge failure: $60,000 for engineering consultants, $120,000 for internal labor costs and $250,000 for equipment to shore up and evaluate the structure.
Minneapolis is also paying up to an additional $150,000 for a contract with Wiss, Janney, Elstner so the firm can determine the cause of the failure and design a repair. Hennepin County, which oversaw construction of the bridge, is chipping in another $150,000.
MAYA RAO
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