Bike Trail Picture of the Day - 8/20/12

Passing by the South Battery

Taken 8/20/12

Location:  Fort Snelling

Near the Fort Snelling State Trail

Fort Snelling State Park

St. Paul, MN

Bike Trail Picture of the Day - 8/19/12

Sunday morning country gravel road ride

Taken 8/19/12

Location:  Akron Avenue

Near Randolph, MN

Sabo Bridge on the Midtown Greenway to Close for About a Week

The Martin Olav Sabo suspension bridge on the Midtown Greenway made a lot of news back in February when a diaphragm plate fractured causing a pair of cables to break loose.  It was later determined that the wind caused vibrations of the cables resulted in fatigue cracking of the diaphragm plates and the failure of two of the cables.  A You Tube video released last year detailed the vibrations on one of the cables long before the cable failures in February.

Repair work will be done and the bridge will be closed to all bike and pedestrian traffic starting Sunday, August 19th at 7 a.m. and is expected to reopen approximately one week later.  A detour for the bridge will be in place by taking to the intersection of 28th Street and Hiawatha Avenue.

Intersection of 28th Street and Hiawatha Avenue

The City of Minneapolis released this statement on its website regarding the repair work to be done on the bridge:

Work begins to repair Sabo Bridge
Repair work will begin next week on the Sabo bike and pedestrian bridge, where support cables broke loose last winter. In this phase, engineers will install one retrofitted diaphragm plate on the bridge, which crosses over Hiawatha Avenue in south Minneapolis. The repair to the plate will then be monitored over the next month to see how it performs. Engineers will then plan and schedule repairs to the rest of the bridge’s diaphragm plates later this year.
One of the bridge’s diaphragm plates fractured in February, causing a pair of suspension cables to break loose.Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc., an engineering firm hired to find the cause of the fracture, concluded in June that wind-induced cable vibrations caused fatigue cracking in the diaphragm plates resulting in two cable connections fracturing. The retrofitted plate being installed this weekend is designed to withstand the fatigue that caused the cracking. 
The retrofitted diaphragm plate will connect to one pair of cables on the Sabo Bridge. This particular pair is the third longest set of cables in the bridge design, and they are the longest cables currently attached to the bridge pylon. Crews will need to de-tension that cable group before the retrofitted plate can be installed. 
In order to conduct this repair work, the bridge will close to bike and pedestrian traffic beginning at 7 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19. During the closure, which will last approximately one week, bike and pedestrian traffic will be detoured to the intersection of 28th Street and Hiawatha Avenue.
Also as part of this work, both directions of Hiawatha Avenue between East 26th Street and East 28th Street will close to traffic starting at 7 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 19. The highway is scheduled to reopen by 5 a.m. Monday, however it is likely that it will open earlier, once work is complete. Drivers will need to follow the posted detour routes.
This phase of the repair is expected to be completed later in the week, and at that point, Hiawatha Avenue will need to close again for a short time. More details on a possible second closure will be available as the work progresses.
The Sabo Bridge is a 215 foot-long cable-stayed suspension bridge that opened in November of 2007 to carry Midtown Greenway bicycles and pedestrians over Hiawatha Avenue. The bridge was built by Hennepin County and turned over to the City of Minneapolis when construction was completed.

Keep informed of trail closures, detours and construction work by subscribing to the City of Minneapolis Bicycle and Pedestrian Update.  Visit http://www.minneapolismn.gov/bicycles/email-updates  and follow the instructions.

DNR Set to Start Construction of Brown's Creek State Trail Near Stillwater

Image Credit: MN Department of Natural Resources

After several years of planning, negotiating for the purchase of the 5.9 mile rail corridor and the removal of the Minnesota Zephyr dinner train, it appears that beginning stages of construction of the Brown's Creek State Trail can be started.

Image Credit: MN Department of Natural Resources

I wanted to know more about this project other than what was stated on the DNR's Brown's Creek State Trail Planning page so I sent an e-mail to Colin Kelly who is a DNR Parks and Trails Planner.  He promptly responded with an update provided by Kent Skaar, MN DNR Acquisition and Development Section Lead for this project.

Image Credit:  Gateway-Brown's Creek Trail Association

The e-mail update contained the following: 

Unfortunately the conversion of the Zephyr Railroad to a recreational trail has not adhered to the schedule that we had projected earlier this year. However, as you note the Zephyr Train was moved from the tracks during July and the removal of the tracks and ties will begin in the next 2-3 weeks. The completion of the tracks/ties is scheduled for no later than the end of November 2012. The corridor will be in a walkable condition following track removal which should facilitate skiing for the 2012/2013 winter.

Construction is currently scheduled to begin in the Spring of 2013, with the initial phase of development remaining focused on the Stillwater to the Browns Creek Park. Engineering and design for the entire trail is currently projected to be completed later this year and development of the trail from Browns Creek Park to the intersection with the Gateway State Trail (including a bridge over Manning Ave) will be dependent upon available funding.

Image Credit:  Gateway-Brown's Creek Trail Association

At this time we have decided to have much of the redevelopment of the TH95 Bridge completed during the course of trail construction rather than this fall.  However, the masonry work on the limestone abutments will be completed under a separate contract which is hoped to be inplace yet this Fall.

The DNR expects 75,000 people a year to use this unique trail that passes through scenic sections of woods and meadows, along a designated trout stream and past historic sites.  Future development plans would connect the Brown's Creek State Trail with a Stillwater city trail along the waterfront that would loop across the Stillwater Lift Bridge and the the new St. Croix River Bridge that is expected to be completed in late 2016 or early 2017.  Click here for more information on the St. Croix River Crossing Project proposed loop trail.

The final version of the Master Plan for the project approved by the DNR Commissioner can be reviewed by clicking here.  If you have further questions regarding the project you can e-mail Parks & Trails Planner Colin Kelly at colin.kelly@state.mn.us or Acquisition & Development Section Leader  Kent Skaar at kent.skaar@state.mn.us.

Bike Trail Picture of the Day - 8/11/12

An afternoon ride along the St. Paul Riverfront

Taken 8/11/12

Location:  Sam Morgan Regional Trail

Near the Wabasha Bridge

St. Paul, MN

Work Continues on the Mississippi River Regional Trail in Dakota County

The Mississippi River Regional Trail (MRRT) in Dakota County will be a 27 mile paved trail that will eventually connect South Saint Paul with Hastings and is scheduled for completion in 2014. Construction is now underway on two more sections of the trail.  Work on the 1.5 mile Central Segment has already begun and is expected to be completed late this summer.  Construction on the Pine Bend Bluffs Segment was scheduled to begin on August 6th.

Image Credit:  Dakota County

The work on the Pine Bend Bluffs Segment will be a 1.7 mile stretch from the south Inver Grove Heights border to the northern boundary of the Pine Bend Bluffs Scientific and Natural Area.  According to Dakota County's Road Construction Updates page, the scheduled work for August 10th through the 18th on the Pine Bend Bluffs Segment is for tree removal as necessary and the installation of a silt fence.  Completion of this segment is expected sometime in late October.  Schedules are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances and weather conditions.

If you would like to get e-mail updates on this segment of the trail as they are posted send an e-mail to erin.borchert@co.dakota.mn.us with "Add me to the CP 97-98 (MRRT - Pine Bend) update list" in the subject line.

Any questions or comments concerning this project can be directed to the Dakota County Transportation Department or by calling 952-891-7100.

Bike Trail Picture of the Day - 8/10/12

Crossing an old railroad trestle

Taken 8/10/12

Location:  Root River State Trail

South Branch Root River

Near Lanesboro, MN