In the department of ‘all bad bridges, all the time!’ –

In a move that will create near-certain chaos as the University of Minnesota gathers for fall classes, Hennepin County and U of M officials have closed the exterior sidewalks on the upper deck of the Washington Avenue bridge to traffic.

The upper deck is solely for the use of pedestrians and cyclists, and is a key connector of the East and West Bank campuses at the U.

Pedestrian traffic will be allowed only on a 14-foot-wide portion of the covered inner section of the bridge. New braces will be installed under the sidewalks on the exterior. Given that pedestrians aren’t precisely heavy (even with the rise in adult obesity rates in Minnesota), how bad is the decking?!

Repairs will reportedly cost about $400,000.

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Author: julie

Julie Kosbab is an online marketing consultant and active transportation advocate living in Anoka County, Minnesota. She was one of Minnesota's only League of American Bicyclists Certified Instructors when certified in 2005. She is a past member of the National Bicycle Tour Directors Association. She has 2 children and 4 bicycles. Find her on Twitter as @betweenstations.