Demolished and reborn, the Lowry Avenue Bridge stands as a testament to Minneapolis’s resilience. This is no ordinary bridge. It is a story etched in steel and concrete.
The original Lowry Avenue Bridge, built in 1905, served the city for over half a century. Imagine horse-drawn carriages and early automobiles crossing the Mississippi on this very spot. In 1958, a second bridge was constructed on the same piers. Time took its toll. By 2004, one of the bridge piers had shifted. The old bridge closed in April 2008 due to structural issues.
What happened next was dramatic. On a Sunday in June 2009, the historic Lowry Avenue Bridge was imploded. The bridge fell into the Mississippi River. Carl Bolander & Sons Co. cleared the navigation channel within 24 hours. The steel was removed from the riverbed within a week.
But this wasn’t the end. Hennepin County decided to replace the structure. They wanted to improve traffic flow and pedestrian access. Construction began in November 2009 and finished in the summer of 2012. The new Lowry Avenue Bridge cost $51.5 million. Lunda Construction Co. was the contractor. T.Y.Lin International & SRF Consulting were the designers.
The new bridge is a unique basket-handle arch bridge. It features a steel basket handle tied arch stay cable. Multi-cell concrete back spans were cast on falsework. Precast concrete main span edge girders and transverse deck beams were used. The bridge is 900 feet long and 91 feet wide.
This bridge is more than just a way to cross the river. It’s an important transportation corridor. The Lowry Avenue Bridge links busy residential and business areas. The 1,600-foot-long bridge accommodates vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, rail, and river traffic. Including the bridge approaches over the Canadian Pacific Railway, the project reaches a total length of 2,300 feet.
Consider the technical features. The Lowry Avenue Bridge has an anti-icing system. It also uses energy-efficient LED lighting. A sustainable stormwater system filters runoff before it enters the Mississippi River. The underground sand filtered stormwater treatment system is the largest of its kind in the upper Midwest.
Interesting fact: When the old Lowry Avenue Bridge closed in 2005 for painting, crime dropped significantly on the east side of the river. The Marshall Terrace neighborhood reported a 41 percent decrease in crime. Some theorized that the bridge closure acted as a barrier to crime crossing the river.
The Lowry Avenue Bridge also considered temporary structures during construction. This maintained the interests of all parties. Early planning and coordination with local agencies and river fleet transporters were crucial.
In 2013, Roads and Bridges Magazine recognized the Lowry Avenue Bridge as one of the top 10 bridge projects in the United States. It stands as a symbol of progress. It represents connection and innovation. As you cross the Lowry Avenue Bridge, remember its history and its impact on Minneapolis.