Lance Meyer

The timeframe of reopening Minot’s Third Street Bridge remains undecided.

City Engineer Lance Meyer said information is expected in a matter of days from the North Dakota Department of Transportation on the bridge’s load rating, indicating how much traffic weight can be placed on the bridge.

“Once we understand what that is we’ll make a determination whether we can fully open the bridge to traffic or not. What we’re really worried about is heavy loads going over the bridge, so semi traffic and those sorts of things. We don’t want to put the public in any kind of jeopardy,” Meyer said during a virtual community discussion on the city’s preliminary 2025 budget Wednesday.

If heavy loads are a concern, structural repairs will be undertaken right away, he said.

“It would be our priority to get a project out here yet this year – find a contractor that can make those repairs and then try to get the bridge open as soon as possible,” he said. “Long term, we’re already talking with the DOT about moving forward with some sort of environmental document to get the bridge eligible for study and that makes it eligible for federal grant funding for maybe a bigger project, whether it might be additional types of repairs or enhancements that would extend or expand the life of the bridge, or a potential replacement.”

The bridge closed May 6 in connection with work on the flood protection project. It was not reopened in July as originally planned due to structural concerns that were identified.

Meyer said the bridge has been in the city’s capital improvements program. Engineering was to start next year and maintenance was to be conducted in 2027. Meyer said the intent is to move up that work.