Franklin Avenue Bridge Design Firm Approved

I'm sharing this information for anyone who crosses the Franklin Bridge, as I do every day on my drive to the office.   I get on from West River Parkway, and in doing so I first drive under the bridge.  This provides a disturbing view of the tremendous amount of missing concrete, exposed rebar, cracks, etc.  That's why I'm so thankful to see this announcement!

From the County Board Actions 3-12-2013:

From the March 12, 2013 meeting of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. County Board Actions includes summaries of only a portion of the total actions of the board, selected for general news interest. For complete information on all resolutions and actions by the board, see the information at the bottom of the page.

Franklin Avenue Bridge design firm approved.

The County Board approved a $2.34 million contract with HNTB Corporation for design services for the Franklin Avenue (CSAH 5) Bridge rehabilitation project in Minneapolis.

The Franklin Avenue Bridge is a 1,014-foot-long concrete arch bridge spanning the Mississippi River; it was constructed in 1923, re-decked in 1971 and resurfaced in 1984. In 2007, a structural investigation of the bridge took place to determine the most cost-effective method of renovating the structure.

The purpose of the rehabilitation project is to restore deteriorated areas of the bridge in a manner that prevents future degradation while preserving the structural integrity and historic nature of the concrete arches.

HNTB Corporation was chosen by a design selection committee consisting of members from the Public Works departments of the county and Minneapolis, and MnDOT. Design engineering will take one year and construction is scheduled to take two years, beginning in the last half of 2014.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Indicating a measure has passed the board does not imply a unanimous vote. The actions of the Hennepin County Board, including a record of how individual commissioners voted are posted under Hennepin County Meetings and Agendas. This portion of the site includes agendas, minutes and resolutions for all committee and full board meetings. Also, from time to time, individual commissioners may post their own viewpoints, news and information on their own websites.

If you’d like to watch committee and full board meetings, they are generally broadcast live on Tuesdays, beginning at 1:30 p.m., and rebroadcast the Friday following the meeting, beginning at 8 p.m., on Metro Cable Network/Channel 6.

Meetings are also streamed live on the Hennepin website under Board Meeting Videos. Archived videos of past meetings also are available on that page.

For more information about these news items, call Carolyn Marinan (612-348-5969), or Carol Allis (612-348-8536). Look for more news at www.hennepin.us/news.