New Harvard Road Bridge Approved

Thu., May 30, 1996

Ward Sanderson Staff Writer

County commissioners last week approved Max J. Kuney Co.’s $4.58 million bid to build a new Harvard Road bridge and widen some approaching roadway.

Commissioner John Roskelley said the existing bridge, built in 1955, will be demolished.

Neil Carroll, a Public Works Department bridge engineer, said the new bridge will offer four automobile lanes, two bicycle lanes, and full-size elevated sidewalks.

The existing bridge is just two lanes wide, and is bordered by narrow sidewalks.

Another safety change will be a re-routing of the Centennial Trail. It will now pass beneath the bridge instead of crossing the road.

“Since we’re so close to the Centennial Trail, we have bicycle and pedestrian travel there as well. So the (new) bridge has been designed to accommodate those types of users,” Carroll said.

That extra span will make the new bridge 48 feet longer than the existing crossing.

Work is scheduled to begin June 15, and will continue this year until Nov. 15. Construction will begin again next year, and the completed bridge will be open by fall 1997.

The existing bridge failed and required extensive repairs in July 1992. Although the county fixed the part of the bridge that gave way, a 5-ton weight restriction was placed there to avoid a second failure.

That bridge will remain open throughout the construction process. Carroll said the new bridge will be built just east of and parallel to the old one.

Harvard Road will also be widened where it meets the bridge on either side.

“We’re utilizing the extra lanes to the make the intersection work better,” Carroll said.

On the north side, the road will be four lanes wide until it intersects with Euclid. The four lanes will end in two standard lanes, a turn lane and a left-hand turn pocket. Harvard will remain two lanes wide north of Euclid.

South of the bridge, the road will be four lanes wide for about 200 feet before tapering into two lanes.

The four automobile lanes will prepare for a future widening of other sections of Harvard Road. “We try and build a new bridge just every 75 years or so,” Carroll said.

He expects the more comprehensive road widening to happen in about 10 years.

, DataTimes

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