The Brotherhood Bridge replacement project is far from complete. But Juneau drivers may have noticed they’re already driving on the first phase of the new bridge.
A new two-lane, single span of Glacier Highway crosses the Mendenhall River adjacent to the old 319-foot bridge.
Orion Marine Contractors is currently demolishing the nearly 50-year-old span. It will be shipped south and melted down.
Once the old bridge is gone, the second phase of the new bridge will be constructed in its place. It will be a little wider than the first phase to accommodate two lanes of vehicle traffic and a separated multi-use path.
Department of Transportation spokesman Jeremy Woodrow said there’s a posted speed limit reduction in the construction zone. It’s normally 50 mph through that area, but it’s now 35 mph over that bridge.
“We ask that drivers that go through that construction zone that they be very aware of the crews and the construction equipment,” Woodrow said. “The lower speed limit is for their safety as well as the safety of the crews. So, provide extreme caution and definitely provide extra braking distance, especially in the winter time when you’re going through that construction zone.”
Woodrow warns drivers to watch for the new traffic pattern marked by barrels and candlesticks or skinny cones on either side of the span.
“There is no left turn coming out what’s called Glacier Highway,” Woodrow said. “It’s a part that comes from the Old Dairy Road – Glacier Highway area that loops back to Brotherhood Bridge. That’s the only major significant change right now is that you can’t take a left out of that.”
The $25.1 million cost of the project is not just for the bridge. It also includes improvements to vehicle and pedestrian traffic on Glacier Highway from Riverside Drive to Engineer’s Cutoff Road.
Estimated completion of the new bridge is October 2015. The bronze medallions that were installed when the original Brotherhood Bridge was dedicated in 1965 will be installed in the handrail of the new bridge.
