By Valory Schoenecker/Murphy News Service
“Sure, the Washington Avenue Bridge keeps students from swimming to class, but some of us think it’s cold, drafty, and a bit too rusty,” Chase Taylor was saying.
Taylor is the director of facilities, housing and transit for the Minnesota Student Association (MSA) and he’s talking about the Washington Avenue Bridge that connects the University of Minnesota’s East Bank and West Bank campuses, spanning across the Mississippi River. While the structure takes automobile, transit and light rail traffic from one side of the university to another, it is also an important route for pedestrians and bicyclists.
The bridge spans 1,100 feet, has two decks. Its lower deck is for motor vehicles; the upper deck is for walking and biking. On the upper deck, pedestrians have a choice of walking inside or outside. The inside portion of the bridge is enclosed by walls where student groups, clubs and sports teams paint individual murals promoting their university causes or interests.
Since Minnesota is known for its below freezing temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills, it is no surprise that this inner walkway is a signature amenity of the bridge.
But some students say the walkway doesn’t live up to its potential.
Catherine Le, a physiology student at the U, says she commutes to campus and often gets off the light rail at the West Bank stop. She says the only time she walks across the bridge to get to East Bank is when the campus shuttle bus is full. She says it is too cold during the winter to walk on the upper deck, even in the enclosed portion.
“I think more students would use it if it was just a little warmer inside,” Le says.
MSA sent out a university-wide email in late January asking students to take an online poll explaining how they use the bridge and what they think of it.
Matthew Frederiksen, a U junior, filled out the poll questions. He says he is concerned that the inside of the bridge is too drafty because of all the holes in the decayed walls.
“Some months I walk, and some months I take the bus. It just depends on the weather. May through September I usually walk because I do enjoy the fresh air,” Frederiksen says.
Le says if the inside of the bridge isn’t going to be warm then it isn’t worth using.
“All it protects is the wind,” she says.
While walking through the enclosed walls, some students have noticed that there is a heater on the ceiling of the walkway but it is never turned on. Amid the rotting walls and the lack of insulation, heat is one luxury students think is crucial to increased usage of the Washington Avenue Bridge.
The MSA email sent to university students stated that the goal of sending out the poll is to “convince campus leaders that improvements are needed.”
The bridge is owned by Hennepin County and maintained by the county, the Metropolitan Council and the U. The upper deck and pedestrian walkway is the responsibility of the U.
A May report gathered by the upper deck’s project team says the university is considering repairing and possibly redesigning the upper deck entirely.
With the bridge’s current mechanical, electrical and architectural structure, annual repairs in the past 5 years have ranged from $16,000 to $134,000.
Based on suggested improvements from an October 2013 report, immediate repairs to the upper deck would cost around $930,000 which would include updating interior lighting and repairing the roof. A complete renovation, including restructuring the pedestrian walkway and adding solar panels, would cost up to $14 million.
Still, no plans have been finalized.
Reporter Valory Schoenecker is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.