SPOKANE, Wash. — The Magnolia Street Pedestrian bridge is permanently closed and will be demolished this Saturday night.
I-90 will be closed in both directions from the Division Street interchange and the Freya/Thor interchange from February 11 - 12.
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) will begin lane closures at 8 p.m. on Saturday and fully close on-ramps between Division to Freya starting at 10 p.m. Lanes and on-ramps will reopen on Sunday morning at 8 a.m.
WSDOT says the closure is necessary to safely remove the center span of the Magnolia Street Pedestrian ridge. The bridge has been in Spokane for more than 50 years.
"A lot of people use it to go back and forth, in the summer the kids use it go to the pool," says Tom Johnson who lives near the bridge.
Johnson has lived in Spokane his whole life.
"I was quite surprised, I didn't think they would close it," said Johnson.
WSDOT says after a mandatory bridge inspection in October, they found cracks and multiple issues with the bridge.
After another inspection last month they decided to permanently close the bridge and take it down.
"We will never close a bridge if there is no safety concern," said Ryan Overton the communications manager at WSDOT."
The bridge was originally supposed to be replaced with the North/South Corridor. But WSDOT says that is no longer an option.
"With this bridge, there was an immediate risk to safety. And so we made the decision to ultimately close it down," said OVerton.
Monika Milstead, who lives near the bridge, says this isn't a surprise for her.
"The concrete and everything was kind of falling apart on it, so it looks like it probably needed to come down," Milstead said.
But Milstead says she's still frustrated.
"I mean it helps bridge these two neighborhoods here so it's nice to have that opportunity," Milstead said. "That's where all the businesses are that we want to get to."
WSDOT says they'll look at different pedestrian options in the meantime.
"We realize this is a burden on the community because there are people that use this daily," Overton said.
As for people living in the area, they hope a new bridge comes sooner than later.
Here are the detours in place and closures:
Westbound I-90 on-ramp closures:
- Freya Street
- Altamont Street
Eastbound I-90 on-ramp closures:
- Maple/Walnut streets
- Monroe Street
- Division/Browne streets
- Hamilton Street
Detour information:
Drivers heading westbound will be routed off I-90 at the Freya/Thor Street interchange. Drivers on Eastbound I-90 will exit South Division Street and follow a signed detour on Sprague Avenue.
Spokane road closures
Some Spokane roads will close during the removal of the bridge span including East 2nd Avenue, between South Napa and South Pittsburg streets, and East 3rd Avenue, between South Pittsburg and South Altamont streets.
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