A fairly mild winter has led into a productive construction season as the Minnesota Department of Transportation gets into the second year of the six-bridge project in Austin. Work is focused on the Fourth Street NW bridge where crews are currently pouring concrete for the abutments and footings aft er focusing on retaining walls early in the year. “People will start to see more concrete come up and that’s a good sign,” said District 6 Director of Public Engagement and Communications, Mike Dougherty. “Eventually, they’ll need more space there for bridge beams to put across.” The Fourth Avenue bridge is the third bridge of the project after both the bridge on Oakland Avenue W and the eastbound lane of Interstate 90 over the Cedar River were completed last year. Crews were also able to rehab the eastbound I-90 lane over Sixth Street NW last year. The plan maintains a rehab of the westbound lane I-90 as well as replacement of the westbound lane over the Cedar this year. “Those will start in June. There are some environmental restrictions where we can’t really be doing stuff at the river until after that,” Dougherty said. As for the Fourth Street NW bridge, the goal to finish the bridge continues to be this fall and when finished will feature a wider bridge for improved traffic flow as well as safer walkway crossings. Once these projects are finished this year, work in 2026 will focus on the final two bridges at 14th Street NW//Highway 218 North and 21st Street NW/Highway 218 South. Dougherty said these two bridges were chosen last to disrupt traffic as little as possible during the final stretch. “That’s based on ensuring everybody has mobility, routes to get where they need to go,” he said. At 14th Street, the two bridges will be replaced by one single bridge with roundabouts at each ramp intersection, but rather than closing it down to traffic completely, the southbound lane will remain open as long as possible with short-duration detours being routed across Fourth Street NW. At 21st Street, the bridge will feature a wide walkway, allowing easier access to local trails. With 21st Street closing for this project, detours will be set up at 11th Drive and 28th Street. “It’s always a balancing act,” Dougherty said regarding the two bridges at the same time. “All in all, things have gone well.” When the entire project is finished, the bridges will also reflect a unique appearance that is fairly specific to Austin. “MnDOT has worked with a visual committee and they said this is how we want our bridges to look,” Dougherty said. “Each one is a little bit different in function, but there is a nice, crisp, uniform look that people will take away.” For more information on the project, visit: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/d6/projects/i90-austin-bridge-replacements/index.html The post Construction crews take advantage of mild weather for bridge project appeared first on Austin Daily Herald. ...read more read less