Drivers crossing the Kenyon Street Bridge towards the west side of Fort Dodge may see a pretty good bump as they cross into the span.

Fixing the bump will slightly delay the planned project to close the bridge’s two lanes from Monday.

“There are no risks whatsoever; it’s just that the concrete is getting worse.” says Jenny Hoskins, resident construction engineer in Jefferson’s office at the Iowa Department of Transportation.

The problem point is at the east end of the west line of the bridge. Due to the rain forecast today and Wednesday, repair work there will likely start Thursday, according to Hoskins.

He said, once under way, the work would take a week to 10 days.

When the work is complete, contractors hired by the state will proceed with plans to cover both eastbound bridge lanes and convert the westbound lanes to one lane of traffic in each direction. It was originally going to be on Monday.

The eastbound lane will then be closed until July.

Hoskins said the beams under the bridge on the east side would be repaired.

Then in 2024, all traffic will be moved to the eastern route while the westbound bridge will be dismantled and replaced.

The Kenyon Road Bridge consists of four structures — two on the west side and two on the east side — that carry the Kenyon Road over the Canadian National Railroad, the Pleasant Valley, and the Des Moines River. The east and west sides of the bridge were built at two different times. They are a different type of structure.

The bridge to the east is made of concrete, while the one to the west is a steel truss bridge. The westbound bridge is very similar in design to the Interstate 35 West bridge that collapsed in the Twin Cities of Minnesota in 2007.