Last week the city said it would reopen one lane in each direction of the new bridge. Now, all four lanes will reopen Friday at 10 a.m.
DEENA WINTER / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Monday, October 6, 2008 7:00 pm
For regular users of the Harris Overpass, the news just keeps getting better.
Late last week the city announced it would reopen one lane (in each direction) of the new bridge on Friday.
But now, that’s been expanded and public works director Greg MacLean says all four lanes will reopen Friday at 10 a.m., after a drive-through ribbon-cutting at Ninth and O streets.
Some painting is still left to be done, so expect periodic lane closures over the next month and temporary barrels on the pedestrian trail until a railing is finished.
The Harris Overpass — which carries O Street traffic over railyards and the historic Haymarket District — has been closed for reconstruction for nearly a year.
The original bridge was built in 1954 but was rated “structurally deficient” in a 2007 bridge report, making it eligible for federal replacement funds, which will cover nearly 80 percent of the $18 million cost.
The bridge was scheduled to be substantially complete Nov. 12 and since it will be finished ahead of schedule, the prime contractor, Cramer & Associates of Des Moines, will get $11,000 per day in incentives for finishing early (although they don’t get the full amount on days there are lane closures).
Project Manager Kris Humphrey said the change orders amounted to less than 1 percent of the project cost, which she said is “outstanding.”
The new beige concrete bridge has a flat bottom to deter pigeons, decorative lighting on and below the bridge and fewer piers, allowing for more development below.
“It looks pretty good,” Humphrey said.
The bridge also has infrared cameras that can detect when ice particles form, to alert drivers via the signs on each end of the bridge.
The city also expects to reopen the new Antelope Valley O Street bridge at 22nd Street either late this week or early next week.
Reach Deena Winter at 473-2642 or dwinter@journalstar.com.