Front Page - Lowry Bridge demolition begins - Lowry Bridge demolition begins

caption: Demolition of the Lowry Bridge started in mid April with workers removing the bridge decking and I-beams.  Photos by Randy Klauk.

The removal of the 100-year-old Lowry Bridge has finally begun, and contractor Carl Bolander & Sons Co. is handling the demolition.  To save money and the environment, Hennepin County will salvage the lighting, monitoring equipment, ornamental fencing, deck panels, stone retaining walls, portions of the stone piers, the bridge's plaque and historic markers. Some of these items will be reused in other places. For example, the deck panels will be taken somewhere else and used as fencing.  The county is also looking at the possibility of salvaging pieces of the railings to use as bike racks at neighborhood parks or libraries. The county had done a nation-wide search to see if anyone wanted to move the bridge or a portion of it (like they did with the portion of the old Broadway Bridge connected to Nicollet Island), but was unsuccessful.

    The bridge trusses and the piers will be imploded on Sunday, June 21.  The middle area of the river, which is the main commercial navigational channel, must be cleared of debris within 24 hours.  The rest of the debris will be removed during the week of June 22, which will open up the recreational channels of the river. The remainder of the piers will be removed during July and a final sonar sweep to make sure everything has been removed will happen on August 14. 

   The construction of the new bridge will begin in the fall. On March 31 the Hennepin County Board approved a contract with SRF Consulting Group, Inc. for the final design of the replacement Lowry Avenue Bridge, at a cost not to exceed $4 million. (The entire construction is estimated at $70 million for Phase I.) SRF will complete the final design for a 902-foot baskethandle arch bridge crossing the Mississippi River and the roadway approaches. This is the first phase of the project. The second phase will consist of a 704-foot concrete box girder bridge extension over the Canadian Pacific Railroad and its roadway approaches, to be constructed at a later date. The new Lowry Bridge is scheduled to open in November 2011.

    For info visit www.lowryavenuebridge.com.  Or contact Hennepin County Transportation Project Manager Jacob Bronder at 612-596-0372 or Jacob.Bronder@ co.hennepin.mn.us; Project Engineer Paul Backer P.E. at 612-282-1714, paul.backer@co.hennepin.mn.us; or Project Supervisor Ned Miller at 612-282-2706 or ned.miller@co.hennepin.mn.us.  The county welcomes your questions and comments.