The John and Dede Howard Trail pedestrian bridge over the CSX railroad tracks in St. Joseph will be closed starting next Monday, February 27th through the end of March for the final phase of a maintenance project.
Work on the bridge, which opened in 2002, has been ongoing since 2020. Department of Public Works Director Greg Grothous said in November this will be the 3rd and final phase of the project, and it will cost about $330,000.
“The contractor will come in and remove all the decking across the span that crosses the railroad tracks, what we’re calling spans two and four,” Grothous said. “So, they’ll remove all the decking on those, and then they’ll clean – and by clean, we mean they’ll remove all the pack rust, sandblast it, and allow the oxidation process of the steel to take place and essentially protect the bridge for the future.”
Grothous says the bridge, which sits at the west end of Lake Court and connects to the paved trail along Lions Park Beach, needed maintenance sooner than expected due to city staff salting it in the winters. There are now signs on the bridge telling workers not to salt the bridge.
He noted due to the work being over the railroad tracks, the city needs several permits from CSX and crews will frequently have to stop work. Grothous said once the work is done, it should be decades before the bridge needs additional work.
