8th Street Bridge construction nearing completion

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The 8th Street Bridge has been helping the people of Sioux Falls cross the Big Sioux River since 1912. The construction project to restore the bridge, while maintaining the original integrity, began back in March.

When working on a bridge that is over 100 years old, Project Manager Dena Knutson says, problems would be expected, but that is not the case with this project.

“We expected to run into a lot more concrete removal or deterioration, but we just didn’t see it,” said Knutson.

The closure of the bridge has caused a significant change to traffic flow downtown, therefore, impacting businesses in the area.

“When the bridge closed people didn’t have enough time to take the detour,” said Sanaa Abourezk, owner of Sanaa’s Gourmet Mediterranean.

Matthew Skadsen, a sales associate at Plum’s Cooking Company, is excited that the bridge will be reopened just in time for some of the year’s biggest shopping days.

“Going into Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and the holidays I think that will be really helpful to have that open and get traffic down here,” said Skadsen.

The 8th Street Bridge is expected to be reopened late next week.

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