Hennepin County will close the center lanes on the Washington Avenue Bridge for two weeks beginning Monday as they start repairs on the pedestrian deck. Construction will be completed in two phases: one will add cross bracing to the center roadway columns on the bottom of the bridge deck, and another which will place 56 longitudinal supports to the underside of the pedestrian deck in 14 locations. Further lane closures will be announced as the project progresses. An earlier Hennepin County press release stated that the project is set to be completed in early May, despite University and County officials stating in a prior Daily article that the project was expected to be completed and reopened to University students by April 1st of this year. Paul Backer, Project Engineer with Hennepin County’s transportation department, said some of the steel and rubber devices needed in the construction had to be developed by a manufacturer in New York, and it will take longer to ship the parts.