Bridge engineers will be in Oslo, Minn., today to begin the process of designing a new bridge that is scheduled to be built over the Red River in 2013.
The hydraulic engineers with the Minnesota Department of Transportation expect to spend about six hours at the present bridge site, beginning at 9 a.m. Depending on the weather, the work could continue into Friday.
Preliminary plans call for a new bridge that will span about 900 feet and be about 50 feet wide, to be located between the present bridge and the railroad tracks. The total project area is anticipated to be about 2,000 feet.
Bid-letting is planned for the fall of 2012, with construction in 2013. The project will be a joint venture between MnDOT, the North Dakota Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
The present steel, high-truss bridge was built in 1959. Consisting of nine spans, the bridge is about 790 feet long, with the main span measuring 220 feet in length and 32.7 feet wide.
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The existing bridge, which connects N.D. Highway 54 and Minnesota Highway 1, often has been closed during spring and summer floods because of flooding of the roads leading to the bridge.
"Rehabilitation of the bridge was considered, but rejected, because this bridge is fracture-critical and has exhausted its useful life," a MnDOT project description said.
MnDOT plans to keep the existing bridge open until the new bridge is built.
The old bridge will be studied for historical significance.
Public hearings on the project will be scheduled later, according to MnDOT.
Reach Bonham at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, ext. 110; or send e-mail to kbon-ham@gfherald.com .
