Plan to Reopen 10th Ave Bridge

The Department of Public Works are proceeding with a plan to open the 10th Ave Bridge by end of day Friday, August 31.

1. The bridge will open to peds, bikes, and two lanes of traffic. A decision has not yet been made about opening to transit only or to general traffic but Public Works will decide soon after one more conversation with MetroTransit.


2. They are installing a supplemental fence on the railing on the upstream (35W) side to raise its height to meet standards, to improve safety for the pedestrians that will undoubtedly come to view the 35W site, whether or not we permit them to be there.


3. Concrete barriers will be installed to separate pedestrians on the upstream side of the bridge from the traffic lanes.


4. Concrete barriers will remain in place until demand for viewing slows down to a point that opening the bridge to four lanes of traffic will not cause a safety hazard due to peds in traffic lanes.

The total cost is estimated to be not more than $120,000. The minimum safe option of temporarily blockading peds from access to the low railing (which would prevent any view of the site from the bridge) would cost around $70,000 so Public Works has decided to proceed with fence installation and a viewing area.

They will request an appropriation increase to cover this cost. It is not certain that the Federal Highway Administration will pay for it but they felt it was imperative to make a decision and move forward in time to have the bridge open before University and public school classes begin on September 4.