BNSF Washington Street Bridge

Northeast Minneapolis, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota

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Name	BNSF Washington Street Bridge Northern Pacific Railway Bridge #11.2
Built By	Northern Pacific Railway
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	Industrial Contracting Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Substructure Contractor	Unknown
Width	5 Tracks
Height Above Ground	14 Feet 0 Inches
Superstructure Design	Steel stringer and concrete slab
Substructure Design	Concrete
Date Built	1931
Traffic Count	100 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Northern Pacific Railway Bridge Number	11.2
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	11.2
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	3/26/2014

In 1862, the First Division of The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company constructed the first railroad in Minnesota, a 10 mile route between St. Paul, Minnesota and Minneapolis (St. Anthony), Minnesota. The railroad quickly spurred growth throughout the Twin Cities, and was extended north and west during the following years. In 1879, the railroad was purchased by the James J. Hill controlled St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway (StPM&M). This route became one of the heaviest used routes on the StPM&M system. By 1907, the StPM&M would be purchased by another James J. Hill railroad, the Great Northern Railway (GN). Great Northern connected to Seattle and Portland on the West Coast, and to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) in St. Paul. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and the CB&Q to form Burlington Northern Railroad. BN was in turn merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF currently operates this line as the Midway Subdivision, the southern of two parallel BNSF main lines through the Twin Cities.

Located in Northeast Minneapolis, this steel stringer bridge carries the BNSF St. Paul and Midway Subdivisions across Washington Street Northeast. Built in 1931 as part of a grade separation project, the bridge features two 49-foot steel stringer spans, covered by a concrete fascia and approached by a 28-foot concrete slab span on each end. The entire bridge is set onto concrete substructures, heavily skewed at 70-degrees, and utilizes a ballasted deck. The piers of the bridge utilize a decorative design typical for this era, and the railings of the bridge are also decorative. The bridge was constructed and utilized by both the Northern Pacific Railway and the Great Northern Railway. Bridges such as this were commonly used as grade separations in cities throughout the United States, due to the durability and ease of construction. Overall, this bridge appears to be in fair to poor condition, with some spalling and concrete defects noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.

Citations

Build Date	Date Stamp
Contractor (Superstructure)	Railway Age, Volume 90
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele