Grand Forks City Council Service/Safety Committee recommended Tuesday bike paths outside of the bridge truss in the Kennedy Bridge Rehabilitation Improvement Project.
The Kennedy Bridge will be either rehabilitated or replaced starting some time in 2016, said Earl Haugen, executive director of the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Metropolitan Planning Organization.
It’s unusual for MPO to bring forth a request like this one in such an early stage of the project, Haugen said. “The main reason is we want to get ahead of the game,” he said.
East Grand Forks’ council already approved the bike paths, Haugen said.
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Council member Ken Vein said the paths were a good idea. “It seems to make absolute sense and I like that we’re being proactive.”
Council member Terry Bjerke said he didn’t like making the decision on bike paths before studies on the bridge have been completed.
Committee members Vein and Tyrone Grandstrand voted in favor of the bike path decision; Bjerke opposed.
