GRANITE FALLS -- Granite Falls received hopeful words on the prospects of repairing the historic pedestrian bridge that spans the Minnesota River in its downtown.
An application for a $512,000 National Scenic Byway grant was ranked No. 1 among 11 submitted by byway organizations in Minnesota, City Council members in Granite Falls were told at their meeting Tuesday.
City Manager Bill Lavin said grant applications from across the nation are currently under review. The city does not know if the grant will be awarded. The application had been prepared by the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission on behalf of the city.
The city has previously been awarded $512,000 in state funds toward the rehabilitation of the bridge.
The city must match the state funds and begin construction on repairs to the bridge no later than 2013 to receive the state funds.
ADVERTISEMENT
The project carries an estimated price tag of $1.2 million.
Built in 1935 as a Works Progress Administration project, the pedestrian bridge is one of the few suspension bridges remaining in Minnesota. Its original plans and the steel cables that hold its 285-foot span were developed by the John A. Roebling and Sons Company of Minneapolis. John Roebling (1806-1869) was the builder of the Brooklyn Bride and inventor of the twisted steel cable that holds the loads of suspension bridges.
An engineering study of the Granite Falls bridge found slight tilts to two of its piers, and engineers have recommended repairs to assure its long-term viability.
The plans also call for lifting the east side of the bridge.
It experienced enormous pressure when floodwaters covered its east deck during the 1997 and 2000 floods.
