Higgins Avenue Bridge Work to Begin October 5

There was hope that work on the Higgins Avenue Bridge would start by January of this year. If you forgot that story I'll bring you up to speed real quick. The job was opened up to bids, only one bid came in and it was more than double the estimated cost, the state decided to put the project on hold and go back to the drawing board, and with a different timeline and requirements the job was reopened to bids. Fast forward to now and we're just about ready for phase one of construction on the bridge.

Work on the Higgins Avenue Bridge is scheduled to start on October 5 and last for the next year and a half. It's one of those things where it'll be an inconvenience but worth it in the end. The project will include widening the bridge deck, roadway and sidewalk improvements, and a new stairway on the westside that leads to Caras Park.

The first phase of construction will see traffic using the two eastside lanes as crews focus their work on the westside lanes. Once complete, and with an estimated finish of May 2021, they'll switch sides with traffic being moved to the westside lanes and work shifting to the eastside lanes. Construction on the second set of lanes is expected through December of 2021. Throw in some paving, striping, and finishing touches......and the entire project is planned to take until the spring of 2022 to complete.

They're comparing the process to what we recently saw with the Russell St. Bridge, which I think most would say turned out great when it was finished. It might be a bit of a hassle trying to get back and forth over the bridge for a while but we'll just have to pack some extra patience and tough it out. In the end we should see a better Higgins Avenue Bridge for commuters, bikers, and pedestrians.

Just make sure you keep October 5 in mind for the first day of work!