Noticed this earlier when I rode to the gym, not a huge deal as the detour is like an extra two blocks though.
2011-08-18 04:51:06
8
Ellsworth Bridge is really closed
Heading up Ellsworth towards the Target you can no long get on the sidewalk and ride across. It's fenced off entirely and the sidewalk has been taken down to the dirt.
We had to go right then left up an alley and then left again to get back on the bridge.
2011-08-18 02:00:35
Yea, we found this on the short version of the Zoom the Tombs ride. I forgot to mention it. We just cut over to Highland a block earlier, on Alder. (We were on Spahr.)
2011-08-18 13:56:12
Any word on when the construction is supposed to be done.
And is that bridge really just going to be for pedestrians/bikes? It looks wide enough to accommodate automotive traffic...
2011-08-31 02:50:58
The sidewalk is back open. The entrance from Shadyside on Ellsworth is kinda of confusing and narrow but its open.
2011-08-31 02:52:47
I ran across this construction document (PDF) on the city's website, which has some details on the forthcoming South Highland Avenue Bridge reconstruction.
They're going to be rebuilding the bridge that carries South Highland Avenue over Ellsworth and the East Busway, just down Ellsworth from the current construction. Part of the project will lower the Ellsworth Avenue roadbed to provide more clearance. The Ellsworth Avenue sidewalk will stay where it is, and get a railing.
The plan is for the construction to run from March 2012 to March 2013. They could maximize public grumbling by coordinating things so the current detour ends just as the new detour starts, but I didn't see such a requirement in the plan documents. 
2011-08-31 04:26:15
But the P-G says the current detour on Ellsworth is through late November.
2011-08-31 05:02:10
Cyclists can ignore the current detour (for the in-progress pedestrian bridge) by just cutting to the right sidewalk (northbound)
It would be tight for two bikes doing it at the same time, but might be preferable to going around
2011-08-31 15:08:56