Breaking News: at 10AM on Friday, April 25, 2008, the Lowry Bridge was closed due to no longer being safe to carry traffic. A replacement bridge project is being given a high priority.

The first bridge at this location was built in 1887. That bridge was replaced in 1905 using new piers. The current Lowry Avenue Bridge was built in 1958, using the 1905 piers. The piers were raised some 20 feet in height to accommodate navigation traffic on the river.

Until recently, the Lowry Avenue Bridge was hard to photograph. The west end is sandwiched between two industrial complexes, while the east end has a bunch of trees in the way. The City of Minneapolis started developing a riverside park in 2006 just south of the east entrance to the bridge. That provided a clearing to shoot the photo above. The park will eventually have a very nice river overlook.

The bridge was closed for a while in 2005 for painting. While doing the paint work, engineers found that one of the piers had shifted 11 inches. In fact, one segment of the bridge was potentially in danger of falling in the river. Divers were sent down to investigate the pier. The conclusion is that they don't know why it shifted, but they think that it is again stable and will not move any further. A new set of bearings had to be manufactured and installed to make the suspect span safe again.

Between the pier problem and near constant repairs needed on the steel grate deck, MN-DOT wants to replace the bridge. So does the City of Minneapolis. The proposal now is to build a signature span using the cable stayed design. The bridge would be the anchor and focal point for a new urban redevelopment project on the west side of the river. The cable stayed bridge would cost in the $35-million range. The legislature has proposed $23 million during the 2007 session, but the state Governor is opposed to any spending for this project.

Update—after an especially warm spring day, MN-DOT inspectors discovered that one set of bridge bearings had once again reached its stop bracket. The stop bracket limits how far the bearing can slide, and it prevents the bridge from sliding off of the pier and falling into the water. Once the span hit the stop bracket, forces from the heating and cooling of the span apparently pushed the problem pier two inches further out of plumb. It also caused some bolts on the structure to shear off. As a result, MN-DOT closed the bridge at 10AM on Friday, April 25, 2008.

The 2008 legislative session pushed though a highway bonding bill. The Lowry Bridge replacement is one of the high priority projects. The bridge is expected to be started in 2009 and be completed by the end of 2010. The plan is to install a signature span. Finalists include a towering arch design, a single tower cable stayed bridge, and a more routine concrete box bridge.