Weekly Bits from the City Newsletter 9-24-10

Two city bridges--one existing and one hoped for--are getting attention according to this week's city newsletter. The city engineer reports that City staff, representatives from the DNR and MnDOT, and the design consultant met on September 15 to review the status of the Paul Bunyan Trail bridge plans. The bridge has been included in Bemidji's state and federal bonding wish lists for several years. So far, no state or federal funding has been appropriated.  The city engineer hopes to have the final plans complete in about a month, so if funding does become available we will be ready to send the project out for bids.

The second bridge mentioned in the newsletter is the Old Midway Drive historic bridge, which is slated to be renovated. The bridge, which is on the national register of historic places, is described on the Beltrami County Historical Society site as: "Nymore Bridge: Large barrel-vault, reinforced concrete bridge built in 1917 using patented reinforcing system." The bridge is no longer used for vehicles, but connects the bike and pedestrian East/West Trail. According to this website, the Nymore Bridge was built as the first highway bridge across the thin isthmus of land between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji and is 168 feet long.

From Highways, Byways and Bridge Photography

Old Midway Drive Bridge deterioration.

Old Midway Drive Bridge looking north.

Total cost for the renovation is estimated to be $355,000 and the city received $130,000 of federal stimulus money from the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation for the renovation. The historical consulting firm of Mead and Hunt is working with Widseth Smith and Nolting to complete the bridge renovation design, which has been funded by the park and trails sales tax. The project is slated to be completed in 2011, but at this time no additional funding has been found for the $225,000 local match. The Park and Trails Commission has not approved using sales tax money for the renovation match.

Our community does not have a very good track record of saving historic structures (think Bemidji High School). Will we find a way to renovate and preserve the first highway bridge between Lake Irving and Lake Bemidji?