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Central Corridor LRT Washington Avenue Bridge: Frequently asked questions

Oct. 8, 2008

Background

• Central Corridor LRT will run down the center of Washington Avenue on the East Bank and the West Bank of the University of Minnesota. A transit-pedestrian mall at street level will extend from Walnut Street to Pleasant Avenue.
• CCLRT will cross the Mississippi River on the vehicle deck of the Washington Avenue Bridge. With two LRT tracks on the bridge, one lane in each direction will remain open to vehicles.
• Central Corridor Project Office staff has worked with project partners Hennepin County, Minnesota Department of Transportation and the University of Minnesota on multiple studies of the bridge to determine the best way to ensure it can carry the weight of the trains.
• At Pleasant Avenue, Washington Avenue will be turned into a transit/pedestrian mall. Eastbound cars crossing the bridge from the west will be required to turn onto Pleasant Avenue or East River Road when they get to the East Bank. 

 

Q:  What improvements need to be made to the Washington Avenue bridge?
A: Pedestrian deck:

• Hennepin County’s improvements to the columns holding up the outside of the pedestrian deck and making the deck more stationary.

A: Vehicle deck

• Metropolitan Council’s improvements, in cooperation with MnDOT and Hennepin County, to reinforce the lower vehicular deck of the bridge to accommodate LRT, which will also make the bridge redundant.

 

Q: Do Hennepin County's planned structural modifications to the pedestrian deck on the bridge impact plans for Central Corridor LRT? 

A: The pedestrian deck issues are independent of the light rail transit project. Hennepin County became fully aware of the pedestrian deck problem as part of an August bridge evaluation report from consultant URS that recommended restricting pedestrian traffic.

We have been working with Hennepin County on the Washington Avenue bridge modifications for LRT on a regular basis for more than a year. The LRT consultants have been the lead, and in effect, the LRT project “discovered” the problem with the pedestrian deck as part of the overall bridge studies even though it was not a responsibility of the LRT project. Central Corridor engineers are working with the county to design the appropriate modifications. We are progressing on a schedule that will not affect the LRT schedule or cost.

Q: What are the next steps?

A: Preliminary engineering on the Washington Avenue bridge improvement work is scheduled for completion in December 2008, and advanced engineering and final design are planned to be completed in 2009. Hennepin County’s schedule anticipates construction of the pedestrian deck improvements will occur next year. Construction of the main bridge modifications will begin in 2010.

Q:  Have there been any studies of the pier footings?  What are the conclusions?

A:  MnDOT is the definitive investigator on that type of inspection, and we are proceeding on their findings. The latest MnDOT study completed in 2007 showed that the pier footings are in good condition. Material testing on the concrete foundations was underway as of the fall of 2008.

Q: What is the estimated cost for modifying the Washington Avenue bridge to incorporate light rail?

A: The project cost estimate includes $30 million to construct modifications to the main roadway structure of the bridge to accommodate LRT. The estimate is based on the expected modifications to the main structure that have been known since before the first of 2008 and were confirmed in the most recent findings in the URS report.  It did not include any cost for the modifications to the pedestrian deck, which will be funded by the county. Additional costs may be expended to further improve the bridge during its modifications, but these improvements would likely be beyond those required for the LRT project and would be the financial responsibility of others.