DES MOINES, Iowa — The Des Moines City Council is expected to approve a nearly $6.2 million construction project that would repair the Guthrie Avenue Bridge over the Union Pacific Railroad on Monday evening.
The Guthrie Avenue bridge was built in 1978. Council documents say the bridge was listed as a “high priority repair” in 2015, and a targeted joint replacement and strengthening project was completed, but other, more extensive repairs were postponed. In 2019, the Bridge Inspection Report listed the bridge’s condition as fair/poor due to chloride-contaminated concrete on the deck and sidewalks, and the concrete barrier rails nearing the end of their lives.
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According to council documents, the project would include the following repairs:
- Removal and replacement of the concrete bridge deck overlay.
- Replacement of bridge expansion joints.
- Repainting structural steel.
- Replacement of the concrete barrier walls and medians along the bridge.
- Isolated structural repairs to the bridge deck.
- Modifying the cross section to add a 10-foot-wide multi-use side path along the south side of the bridge.
- Installation of structural steel pedestrian handrailing and chain link fencing along the bridge.
Improvements to the intersection of Guthrie Avenue and Delaware Avenue are also included in the project.
The Des Moines City Engineer estimated the project could cost over $6.3 million; however, council documents say members are expected to approve a construction contract with Jasper Construction Services, which estimated the project at over $6.1 million. Council documents say $2 million in Federal Surface Transportation Block Grant funding will be used for the project…