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Traffic on the bridge will be reduced from four lanes to two while the plates are reinforced, with work expected to be complete by the middle of June.
“The point to stress is that the bridge is safe,” said Mike Robinson, district engineer for the Minnesota Department of Transportation. “By reducing it to two lanes, the live loads on the bridge are substantially reduced.”
The bridge, also known as the High Bridge, opened in 1961. Reconstruction from 1992 to 1994 added a new, thicker deck and heavier railings, and an analysis found that the gussets weren’t sufficient for the added weight, MnDOT said.
The gussets — 16 in all — will be reinforced with angle irons. The L-shaped pieces of metal will be both bolted and riveted on in what state Bridge Engineer Dan Dorgan called “a rather simple fix.”
The bridge, which carries I-535 over the St. Louis River, carries about 29,500 vehicles a day, MnDOT said. A fact sheet said the bridge is the state’s second-longest at 7,980 feet.
Minnesota’s bridges have been under close scrutiny since the Minneapolis bridge collapse in August, a catastrophe blamed in part on too-thin gusset plates. The partial Blatnik closure comes just a few weeks after the DeSoto bridge in St. Cloud was shut down because of warped gusset plates.
Both problems were found as a result of special inspections ordered up by Gov. Tim Pawlenty in the wake of the Minneapolis collapse. The DeSoto bridge has remained closed, and MnDOT decided to replace it rather than try to repair the gussets.
Rep. Jim Oberstar, the Minnesota Democrat whose district includes Duluth, said the partial closure showed the state “is taking the proper steps” to ensure public safety.
