As a part of Minnesota Department of Transportation’s plan to replace the 11th Drive Northeast bridge over Interstate 90 in 2017, the Austin City Council chose an option for pedestrian sidewalks.

Public Works Director Steven Lang presented the council with two options.

Their first option, and the one the council chose, is to have a 10-foot sidewalk going over the bridge and connecting to Eighth Avenue Northeast near the county recycling center and to a trail that goes into Todd Park.

Pedestrians will be able to cross I-90 on the west side of the bridge. There will be a 5-foot sidewalk from Eighth Avenue Northeast near the county recycling center, then a 10-foot wide trail between the center and the eastbound off-ramp.

The trail will continue across the bridge and then connect into Todd Park.

“We now need to make sure we safely get pedestrians each way on each side of the bridge,” Lang said. “It would be my recommendation to go with option one where it’s a little more seamless. It ties into our trail system there on the west side [and] on the north side of the bridge a little more seamlessly.”

The other option was to have the trail on the east side of the bridge, which would not connect to Eighth Avenue Northeast nor the Todd Park trail. Lang said this option is the one most pedestrians use right now, but the city would have to figure out how to get people across Tenth Place Northeast by Kwik Trip.

Lang also added the ditches are very steep there and it would be hard to construct.

“Initially looking at it, option two is the way to go, but then when you start to look at constructibility, option two becomes very difficult,” Lang said.

Council members commented about the safety of that area and Lang said the wider roads would increase visibility for pedestrians.