Sioux Falls, South Dakota (KELO AM) -The Sioux Falls bike trail will include a short detour beginning today to accommodate repairs to the Eighth Street bridge over the river downtown. The bike trail will reopen in less than a week on Saturday, September 14, 2013, once the work on the bridge is complete.
“The Eighth Street bridge is more than 100 years old,” says Mark Cotter, Director of Public Works. “While still structurally sound, it’s in need of repair to maintain safety for walkers, runners, and bicyclists who use the trail under the bridge.”
Contractors will remove any lose concrete on the bridge and install sheets of fiberglass that will be epoxied to the concrete on the underside. The fiberglass sheets cure and have a strength similar to steel without rusting.
This project will help to extend the life of the bridge, built in 1912, until it is replaced in the next five to seven years. New lighting recently has been added to the bridge. While the repairs are underway this week, trail users are asked to use a short detour over Eighth Street, across the trail near the new CNA building, and back to the main trail near Fawick Park.
If you have questions regarding the bridge repairs or the bike trail detour, please call 605-367-8601.