Know Your Bridges
A Guide to Upper Mississippi Bridges
Bridge Closings and Repairs
DeSoto
Bridge
St. Cloud, Minn.
Closed on March 20, 2008, due to distorted gusset plates; demolished in October 2008 and the new bridge is on schedule to open in November 2009.
Lowry Ave. Bridge Minneapolis
Closed on April 25, 2008
Hastings
High Bridge
Hastings, Minn.
Maintenance and repair one-lane only
summer 2008.
Replacement moved ahead to 2010.
Winona High Bridge
Winona, Minn.
Closed June 3, 2008 due to corroded
gusset plates.
Reopened to cars June 14.
Scheduled for replacement in 2012.
Here is a table with information about the 43 traffic bridges between Coon Rapids, Minn., and Muscatine, Iowa Ñ excluding railroad and pedestrian bridges.
The sufficiency rating in the National Bridge Inventory uses four factors to generate a value between 0 and 100, with 100 being a perfect score. The rating considers lane width and other measures in addition to a bridgeÕs structural condition.
The term functionally obsolete refers to the bridge design, judging that in some way it is not functioning as well as a bridge at that site might. Perhaps it has too few lanes, which causes traffic jams. The term does not refer to its structural safety.
The term structurally deficient refers to a structural defect or defects that may affect bridge safety.
Sizing Up The Bridges
From Big
River Magazine, November-December 2007 Read
article 
Big
River Updates
| Bridges over the Mississippi from the Twin Cities to Muscatine, Iowa | ||||||
Name(s) |
West to East |
River Mile |
Year Built |
Length (Spans) Navigation Span |
Sufficiency Rating |
Avg. Daily Traffic |
Richard P.
Braun Bridge |
Brooklyn Park to Coon Rapids, Minn. |
865.0 |
1985 |
1,326 ft. (11) 122 ft. |
84 |
42,000 (2004) |
I-694 Highway Bridge |
Brooklyn Center to Fridley, Minn. |
860.4 |
1963-w 1988-e |
776 ft. (5) 194 ft. |
82.8-westbound 90.3-eastbound |
71,000 (2004) |
Camden Bridge 42nd Avenue North Bridge |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
857.8 |
1975 |
1,450 ft. (10) 244 ft. |
76.6 structurally deficient |
11,000 (2003) |
Lowry
Avenue Bridge |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
856.4 |
1905 |
889 ft. (5) 145 ft. |
41.3 structurally deficient |
15,300 (2003) |
Broadway Avenue Bridge |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
855.4 |
1986 |
857 ft. (4) 186 ft. |
77.3 |
22,600 (2003) |
Eighth Avenue Bridge Plymouth Avenue Bridge |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
855.0 |
1980 |
944 ft. (5) 141 ft. |
82.8 |
9,700 (2003) |
Father Louis Hennepin Bridge |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
854.3 |
1988 |
1,037 ft. (1) 485 ft. |
85.4 |
25,800 (2003) |
Third Avenue Bridge St. Anthony Falls Bridge (National Register of Historic Places) |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
854.1 |
1917 |
1,887 ft. (7) |
80.2 |
15,500 (2004) |
|
(collapsed August 1, 2007) |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
853.2 |
1967 |
1,907 ft. (3) |
50 structurally deficient |
141,000 (2004) |
10th Avenue Bridge Cedar Avenue Bridge (National Register of Historic Places) |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
853.1 |
1929 |
2,153 ft. (7) |
76.9 |
11,600 (2003) |
Washington Avenue Bridge |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
852.6 |
1965 |
1,131 ft. (3) |
93.9 |
21,500 (2003) |
I-94 Highway Bridge Dartmouth Bridge |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
851.7 |
1963 |
1,001 ft. (6) |
85 |
167,000 (2004) |
Franklin Avenue Bridge Cappelen Memorial Bridge (National Register of Historic Places) |
Minneapolis to Minneapolis |
851.5 |
1923 |
1,054 ft. (5) |
50 structurally deficient |
9,500 (2004) |
Lake St./Marshall Avenue Bridge |
Minneapolis to St. Paul |
849.9 |
1989 |
1,484 ft. (2) |
89.9 |
13,200 (2004) |
Ford Parkway Bridge Intercity Bridge |
Minneapolis to St. Paul |
847.8 |
1927 |
1,524 ft. (5) |
77.4 functionally obsolete |
22,500 (2003) |
West Seventh Street Bridge Fort Road Bridge |
Ft Snelling, Minn., to St Paul |
845.6 |
1961 |
1,198 ft. (7) |
67 |
56,000 (2004) |
I-35E Highway Bridge Lexington Bridge |
Mendota Heights, Minn. to St. Paul |
843.3 |
2001 |
1,406 ft. (6) |
85 |
75,000 (2004) |
Smith Avenue Bridge High Bridge |
St. Paul to St. Paul |
840.5 |
1986 |
2,770 ft. (3) |
85.3 |
18,000 (2004) |
Wabasha Street Bridge |
St. Paul to St. Paul |
839.5 |
1996 |
1,253 ft. 316 ft. |
97.5 |
5,800 (2001) |
Robert Street Bridge (National Register of Historic Places) |
St. Paul to St. Paul |
839.2 |
1926 |
1,429 ft. (8) |
73.6 functionally obsolete |
19,000 (2004) |
Lafayette Bridge Federal Highway 52 Bridge |
St. Paul to St. Paul |
838.8 |
1968 |
3,366 ft. (3) |
49.5 structurally deficient |
81,000 (2004) |
I-494 Highway Bridge Wakota Bridge (under construction) |
S. St. Paul to Newport, Minn. |
832.4 |
2003 |
1,892 ft. |
82 |
89,000 (2004) |
St. Paul Park Bridge (closed in 1999) |
Inver Grove Heights to St. Paul Park, Minn. |
830.3 |
1895 |
1,661 (1) 192 ft. |
3,900 (1998) |
|
|
Hastings
High Bridge |
Hastings, Minn. |
813.9 |
1950 |
1,857 ft. (3) |
49.1 functionally obsolete |
32,500 (2004) |
Federal Highway 63 Bridge Eisenhower Bridge |
Red Wing, Minn., to Hager City, Wis. |
790.6 |
1958 |
1,631 ft. (3) |
44.8 |
11,500 (2004) |
State Highway 25 Bridge Wabasha-Nelson Bridge |
Wabasha, Minn., to Nelson, Wis. |
760.2 |
1987 |
2,462 ft. (1) |
73.5 |
4,750 (2004) |
Winona
Bridge |
Winona, Minn., to Bluff Siding, Wis. |
725.8 |
1941 |
2,288 ft. (3) |
49.8 |
11,900 (2004) |
I-90 Highway Bridge Dresbach Bridge Scheduled for replacement in 2012. |
Winona Cnty, Minn., to Campbell Tnshp, Wis |
701.8 |
1967 |
2,490 ft. (12) |
77 |
26,000 (2004) |
Cass Street Bridge (westbound) Cameron Avenue Bridge (eastbound) |
La Crescent, Minn., to La Crosse, Wis. |
697.5 |
1940-w
2004-e |
2,532 ft. (3)-w 2,573 ft. (3)-e |
65-w
86-e |
22,296 (2003) 19,800 (2003) |
State Highway
82 Bridge |
Lansing, Iowa to Vernon County, Wis. |
663.4 |
1931 |
1,631 ft. (3) |
39.9 functionally obsolete |
2,290 (2004) |
Federal Highway 18 Bridge Marquette-Joliet Bridge |
Marquette, Iowa, to Prairie du Chien, Wis. |
634.7 |
1974 |
1,916 ft (10) |
74.7 |
12,000 (2002) |
City Island Bridge Federal Highway 61 Bridge |
Dubuque, Iowa, to Grant County, Wis. |
581.3 |
1982 |
2,951 ft. (1) |
87.4 |
18,400 (2004) |
Julien Dubuque Highway Bridge |
Dubuque, Iowa, to East Dubuque, Ill. |
579.3 |
1943 |
5,761 ft. (3) |
43.4 functionally obsolete |
26,800 (2004) |
Savanna Highway Bridge (National Register of Historic Places) |
Sabula, Iowa, to Savanna, Ill. |
537.8 |
1932 |
2,481 ft. (4) |
45.9 functionally obsolete |
2,450 (2005) |
North Clinton Bridge Lyons-Fulton Bridge |
Clinton, Iowa, to Fulton, Ill. |
520.0 |
1974 |
3,013 ft. (3) |
65.7 functionally obsolete |
9,800 (2004) |
Clinton Highway Bridge Gateway Bridge |
Clinton, Iowa, to E. Clinton, Ill. |
518.1 |
1956 |
4,166 ft. (1) |
56.6 functionally obsolete |
10,000 (2004) |
I-80 Highway Bridge Fred Schwengel Memorial Bridge |
LeClaire, Iowa, to Hampton Township, Ill. |
495.4 |
1967 |
3,488 ft. (16) |
65 |
26,000 (2005) |
Iowa-Illinois Memorial Highway Bridge |
Bettendorf, Iowa, to Moline, Ill. |
485.8 |
N: 1935 S: 1960 |
5,149 ft. (3) 710 ft. 5,018 ft. (3) |
60.6 functionally obsolete |
32,900 (2005) |
Iowa Interstate RR and U.S. Govt. Railroad and Highway Bridge (National Register of Historic Places) |
Davenport, Iowa, to Rock Island, Ill. |
482.9 |
1896 |
1,848 ft. (1) |
26.4 functionally obsolete structurally deficient |
18,415 (2003) |
Centennial Highway Bridge |
Davenport, Iowa, to Rock Island, Ill. |
482.1 |
1940 |
3,854 ft. (5) |
43.5 |
25,500 (2005) |
I-280 Highway Bridge |
Davenport, Iowa, to Rock Island, Ill. |
478.3 |
1970 |
4,194 ft. (1) |
67.9 |
21,200 (2004) |
Muscatine Highway Bridge Norbert F Beckey Bridge |
Muscatine, Iowa, to Rock Island County, Ill. |
455.9 |
1972 |
3,018 ft. (1) 500 ft. |
66.6 |
4,150 (2004) |
This chart was originally published in November 2007. Read more Since then, two of the bridges have been closed (one reopened with restrictions) and one is under emergency repair. Another bridge, not on this chart because it is north of the Twin Cities, the De Soto Bridge in St. Cloud, Minn., was closed on March 20, 2008, due to distortions in gusset plates.
Bridges Updates from Big River Magazine: May-June 2008 March-April 2008