All lanes will soon be open on the Interstate 94 bridge at exit 260 in Jamestown, according to Nathan Haaland, assistant district engineer in the Valley City District of the North Dakota Department of Transportation.
“We should probably see the lane closures pulled down this week or early next week,” Haaland said.
The $4.6 million bridge replacement project is about 98 percent complete, but the grass seeding, line painting and some guard rail work will need to wait until spring, he said. There are temperature requirements for painting and a brief crossover diversion will be required in the spring for the seeding and guard rail work, he said.
“We will be able to open both lanes for the wintertime and next year we will just come back with a short-term lane closure,” Haaland said.
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The contractor, Swingen Construction Company of Grand Forks, was on target to complete the project last week but two vehicle accidents caused a delay, he said. The accident on Oct. 11 involved a traveler who drove 232 feet over freshly poured concrete, he said.
“They had to remove the concrete, reshape the gravel, prime coat the concrete and allow seven days for it to cure,” Haaland said. “Then it went from nice to winter like a light switch and we just ran out of time.”
The bridge was originally constructed in 1958 and repaired in 1984, according to a May Sun story. The bridge was determined to be structurally deficient by DOT engineers in 2016.
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