Stretch of Twin Cities freeway reopens after crews remove part of damaged bridge
Update: Aug. 18, 5:15 a.m.
A portion of State Highway 62 — the Crosstown — in the Twin Cities was back open early Thursday, after crews removed part of a damaged pedestrian bridge spanning the road.
The bridge in Edina was hit by an oversized truck on Tuesday, prompting the Minnesota Department of Transportation to close the westbound lanes of Highway 62 between Interstate 35W and Highway 100.
Crews removed part of the concrete deck from the damaged bridge. The highway was fully reopened as of early Thursday morning.
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A stretch of Twin Cities freeway remained closed Wednesday, a day after an oversized vehicle struck a pedestrian bridge spanning the road.
The closure affects westbound Highway 62 — the Crosstown — between Interstate 35W and Highway 100. The bridge that was hit crosses the freeway near Rosland Park in Edina, just west of Valley View Road.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation says the collision bent the steel truss on the underside of the bridge. That caused concerns about the concrete deck on the span above the westbound lanes.
There was no other information immediately available about the vehicle that hit the bridge.
MnDOT spokesperson Kirsten Klein said crews are working to remove the concrete, so the freeway can reopen. She didn’t have an estimate for when that might happen, but said it would be “as soon as we can.”
And Klein said plans already were in the works to entirely replace the bridge.
“It will eventually come down for a new one,” she said. “It’s already in the process of being fabricated so it will be replaced.”
When that replacement happens, there may be additional closures along that stretch of freeway.