When it first opened, the bridge contained a massive 23 arches ranging between 30 and 98 feet. These arches were made of Kasota Limestone resting on St. Cloud Granite.
The bridge was first built for double track railway traffic, particularly passenger traffic.
Once said impossible to build, the bridge faced the challenge of crossing St. Anthony Falls at an angle and having a curve in the west end.
The bridge took nearly 2000 carloads of stone to complete. Original plans called for a steel bridge, which would have failed due to the changing river conditions in the bedrock.
Over time, the falls were gradually channelized, and by 1962, the Coast Guard wanted to add a navigation Channel. This required two arches be replaced with a truss.
Historic photo of the bridge
The arches were cut out, bases widened and truss assembled off site. The arches were knocked out and the truss added, stopping traffic for only 7 hours.
By the mid-1970s, the Great Northern Depot (which StPM&M was merged into by 1907) was demolished and the bridge saw a continual decrease in traffic. At the end of railroad use, only one track was sparingly used.
The bridge was formally abandoned in 1983, and tracks were cut back to near the I-35W bridge.
In the 1990s, a private organization raised significant money to open the bridge to pedestrians. The bridge was restored in 1994 and officially opened in 1995.
In addition, the area around the bridge was redeveloped in the early 2000s to be more user friendly. Currently, the mill races have been exposed; and the area surrounding the bridge is a local favorite.
Today, the bridge is one of the most photographed bridges in the midwest, and in the country.
It is recognized as a landmark, and "Minnesota's Favorite Bridge" by one blogger. The author has ranked the bridge as being nationally significant, due to the large scale design and the unique engineering challenges overcome in construction.
The photo above is looking from the south bank. In 2022, a rehabilitation program is expected to begin, replacing several stones and repairing the rest of the bridge.
Historic photos by Hennepin County Library, used with permission.
Click Here for Detailed plans of the bridge!
11/07/21
Mississippi River Railroad Bridges
| Upstream | Third Avenue Bridge |
| Downstream | Minneapolis Western Bridge |
