Video: Slow work sliding I-35E bridge into place

Despite a snag Wednesday night, construction workers expect to have the Larpenteur Avenue bridge above Interstate 35E in St. Paul in place Friday.

The new bridge was built next to the old one and designed to be rolled into place - an innovative technique tried for the first time in Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Transportation said.

Pushing the 3.5 million pound bridge into position was expected to take eight hours, but crews ran into problems with the slide system Wednesday night, delaying the process, MnDOT said.

The agency expects to finish the work overnight tonight and reopen the stretch of I-35E beneath the bridge to motorists by 5 a.m. The bridge will reopen to traffic in a few weeks.

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