Ella St. canal bridge reopens

The Ella St. canal bridge has reopened just in time for the upcoming school year.

“As promised, the Ella Street bridge has been completed and fully reopened to traffic. A huge thank you to the city engineer’s office and R & I Construction for seeing this project through to completion on schedule, under budget, and before school returns,” Mayor Aaron Montz tweeted Friday.

The construction was part of the city’s 2020 Pavement Repair Program, in which a total of approximately $850,000 was put towards resurfacing 89 miles of roadway, the Ella Street project, and more.

$509,000 was used to repair the existing Ella Street canal bridge, which had weight restrictions that prohibited traffic including fire trucks, snow plows, and school buses. Additionally, sidewalks were widened on each side of the bridge to improve pedestrian safety and complete a connectivity component of the city’s Active Transportation Plan.

Planning is also underway for construction on the adjacent Ella Street River Bridge.

In June, the design process began for the river bridge. The estimated $4.5 million project is scheduled to begin construction in late 2022. The city has already successfully leveraged the road and bridge levy funds to secure $2 million in federal funding towards the project. The city intends to continue to pursue additional funding sources prior to the start of construction.