Bridges of Hennepin County

I do a lot of biking in the Twin Cities and surroundings.  Once in a while, usually with someone of like mind, I'll do a "themed ride" e.g. cemeteries, churches, historic sites, lakes, parks, colleges, places where I have worked (stay tuned) ...  and the theme for this post - the bridges of Hennepin County. Actually, a subset of that, the Bridges of Minneapolis, but I that title doesn't have the same literary cachet.

Prior to the railroad era, rivers were the primary transportation and exploration arteries.  And many major US cities owe their existence and growth to these rivers.  Minneapolis & St. Paul (the misnamed "Twin Cities") are situated above and below Fort Snelling which is positioned at the confluence of the Minnesota and the mighty Mississippi River.  (How did a river with its source in Minnesota get named "Mississippi" by the way?  If rivers are named based on their mouths, the Tennessee should be the Ohio and the Ohio should be the Missouri. Probably too late to make these changes.)

But I digress.

In modern times, any city where a river runs through it, its bridges are key features of the city's landscape and history.

The biking challenge I proposed was to cross the Mississippi River as many times as possible before fatigue halts the exercise - without recrossing any bridge.

So here goes.

#1 We start our ride with the 494 bridge just southeast of the MSP Airport.  (This is actually connects Bloomington and Mendota Heights and crosses the Minnesota River so I've already messed up the thesis.)

494 Bridge

Concrete girder construction
opened 1982
4509' in length (longest bridge of the ride)

This is a dreadful bridge for a biker.  Even though there is a concrete barrier between the road and path, heavy, high speed traffic, lots of trucks kicking up sand and wind blasts make it a real slog.

494 Bridge (that's not me btw)

#2 Proceeding north through Fort Snelling State Park - a nice ride in itself - we cross the Mendota Bridge which connects Minneapolis to Mendota Heights. This is known to locals as the "Mile Long bridge", although it's a bit short of that.  It crosses (the Minnesota River) just below the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi at Fort Snelling. This is a beautifully constructed concrete arch bridge but also dreadful to bike across for the same reasons as 494, plus it's 75' above the river and the wind howls.

Mendota Bridge

Concrete arch
opened 1926
4119' long

Mendota Bridge

#3 At the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota, we cross the Fort Bridge, also known as the Highway 5 bridge (or the 7th St. bridge if you are from St. Paul). This crosses the Mississippi and puts you in St. Paul.

Fort Bridge  aka 7th St Bridge

Crosses the Mississippi at Fort Snelling becoming St Paul 7th St.
Steel plate girder
opened 1961
1198' long

Fort Bridge

Fort Snelling

#4  Following along the Mississippi River north, we reach the Ford Bridge at 46th St/Ford Parkway. The bridge sits just above Mississippi Lock & Dam #1. It is known as the Ford bridge due to its proximity the Ford auto plant (demolished in 2014) and is officially the "Intercity Bridge".

Ford Bridge  a.k.a. Intercity Bridge

Crosses the Mississippi at 46th St - Ford Parkway. Mpls on the west, St Paul on east
Concrete arch
opened 1927
1523' long

Ford Bridge & former Ford Truck Plant Site

#5 Continuing north following the "Grand Rounds" bike trail along the Mississippi, we reach the Lake Street Bridge (or Marshall Street Bridge if you are from St.Paul).

Lake St Bridge

Crosses Mississippi at Lake St (mpls) Marshall (St. Paul)

Concrete arch, concrete girders

opened 1992 - Original bridge on this site was constructed in 1889
1483' long

Lake St Bridge

#6 Continuing north on the east bank, we reach a National Register of Historic Places landmark, the fabulous Franklin Ave Bridge.  A beauty of a bridge with a beauty of an intersection on the east end, miserable place to be stuck at a red light.

Franklin Ave Bridge

Steel reinforced concrete arch
Opened 1923
1054' long

#7 Next up is the 10th Ave bridge, also on the National Register of Historic Places, due to its classic arch design.

10th Ave Bridge

Crosses Mississippi between 19th Ave S & 10th SE north of the U
Concrete Arch
opened 1929
2921' long

10th Ave Bridge

I include the Dartmouth Bridge (I94) for completeness, but you would have to be crazy to cross it on a bike.

I94 / Dartmouth 

Freeway bridge - No bike traffic
Steel girder
Opened 1964
1001' long

Dartmouth/I94 Bridge

#8 Just beyond is the creative Washington Ave bridge, a 2 level bridge which triples as an auto, light rail & pedestrian-bike bridge linking the East & West Bank campuses of the University of Minnesota. It overlooks Bohemian Flats (stay tuned).

Washington Ave Bridge

Steel plate girder

opened 1965
1131' long

Washington Ave Bridge & Bohemian Flats

#9 Next one of my favorites, the NP #9 railroad bridge, now a strictly pedestrian-biking bridge and serving as a short-cut from the University of Minnesota to downtown Minneapolis.

NP Bridge #9

Steel deck / truss

opened 1922

Abandoned Northern Pacific railroad bridge reincarnated as a bike/pedestrian bridge connecting East/West bank U 1999
922' long

NP #9

Next another freeway bridge with particular significance to the city and the state of Minnesota.  In 2007, the 35W bridge collapsed sending 84 cars and 200 people plunging into the river below. Miraculously, only 13 people died. A new 35W was constructed in under a year, opening in 2008.

35W Bridge

No bike traffic

Precast concrete segment

1216'

new bridge opened 2008

#11  My favorite bridge. The railroad tycoon, J.J. Hill built the Stone Arch Bridge, a railway bridge to serve the Union Depot in Minneapolis.  It was converted to a pedestrian/bikeway opening in 1994 and offering a fabulous view of St. Anthony Falls to the north.

Stone Arch Bridge

JJ Hill's Great Northern RR bridge
Opened 1883
2100'
Opened as Bike/Pedestrian bridge 1994

Stone Arch Bridge

#11 Just above the Stone Arch bridge is the 3rd Ave bridge, also known as the St. Anthony Falls bridge.  This bridge takes you to Nordeast Minneapolis and Central Ave. See my Nordeast post

3rd Ave Bridge

Concrete arch
Opened 1918
2223' long

3rd Ave Bridge a.k.a. St Anthony Falls bridge

#12  Next is the elegant Father Hennepin Bridge, the only suspension bridge on the list.  This was the site of the very first permanent bridge in Minneapolis constructed in 1854.  It has been called ".. the most elegant and stylish bridge to span the mighty river".

Father Hennepin Bridge

Site of 1st permanent Mpls bridge 1854
Steel suspension
Opened 1990
1037' long

#13 North of downtown, we reach the Plymouth Ave Bridge - or the 8th Ave Bridge to Nordeasters'. The original bridge on this site (1873) was a wood truss structure.

Plymouth Ave Bridge

Crosses Mississippi at Plymouth (20th N) Ave to 8th Ave NE
Concrete box girder
opened 1983
944' long

#14 Next up, the Broadway Ave bridge, a pretty generic looking bridge, but ...  the 45th parallel crosses the Mississippi about 300' north of the bridge, meaning the bridge is almost exactly half way between the equator and the north pole. (from John Weeks website)

Broadway Ave Bridge

Steel girder

opened 1987 (original 1857)
857' long

Broadway Ave Bridge

#15 Next, another favorite and ignoring the no trespassing signs & we gingerly walk the bikes across.

Abandoned NP-BNSF RR Bridge

Abandoned RR bridge

#16 Next we reach the modernistic Lowry Avenue Bridge, named of course for the railroad/streetcar tycoon, Thomas Lowry, more famously known for the Minnesota village that bears his name. (Had to recross this bridge as there is no "nice" way north on the west side - fail.)

Lowry Ave Bridge

original 1905
opened 2012
1576' long

Lowry Ave Bridge

#17 And at last we reach Minneapolis north and the Camden Ave Bridge (or 37th Ave Bridge if you're a Nordeaster).  This bridge connects two parkways on either side of the river.

Camden Ave Bridge

Connecting 42nd Ave N with 37th ave NE

Steel plate girder

opened 1977

1686' long

Camden Bridge

17 times across the river.  Not a bad ride.

If you're interested in more bridge history and technical specifics, see John Weeks excellent site on Minnesota bridges. http://www.johnweeks.com/bridges/index.html


Copyright © 2015 Dave Hoplin