Hennepin County will close the Lowry Avenue Bridge  in Minneapolis today, April 25, at 10 a.m. The bridge, which was built in 1905 and rebuilt from its original structure in 1958, spans the Mississippi River, connecting Northeast and North Minneapolis. Hennepin County planned to close the bridge later this summer, but increasing structural problems caused the County to close the bridge earlier than expected.

The county has been monitoring the bridge on a daily basis since a 2004 inspection found foundation problems at Pier 3 on the east side of the navigational channel. The 2004 inspections found that Pier 3 had rotated 11 inches out of alignment . Since that measurement, the pier has rotated an additional 2 inches and has presented greater risks to the 15,000 cars that cross the bridge daily.

A replacement bridge is planned to begin in October 2009 and be completed by late 2011. The project is estimated to cost around $109 million. The county is currently seeking opportunities to speed up the building start date.