Third Avenue Bridge (Minneapolis)

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**Third Avenue Bridge**
Third Avenue Bridge spanning the Mississippi
Carries	Four lanes of Minnesota State Highway 65
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Maintained by	Minnesota Department of Transportation
ID number	2440
Design	Open-spandrel concrete arch bridge
Longest span	211 feet
Total length	2223 feet
Width	54 feet
Clearance below	42 feet
Opening date	1918
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The Third Avenue Bridge is a landmark structure of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, originally known as the St. Anthony Falls Bridge. It carries road traffic across the Mississippi River and right over the upper fringes of Saint Anthony Falls. The multi-arched bridge meets with Third Avenue in downtown Minneapolis at its south end, but curves as it crosses the river, and connects with Central Avenue on its north end. The shallow "S" curve in the bridge was built to avoid fractures in the limestone bedrock that supports the bridge piers. The road is also designated Minnesota State Highway 65. Construction began in 1917, and it opened about a year later. The bridge, which uses arches of an open spandrel design, has been modified since that time, and underwent a major overhaul in 1979–1980. The 2,223-foot (667.6 m) crossing was designed by city engineer Frederick W. Cappelen, who also created plans for other similar bridges in Minneapolis such as the Franklin Avenue Bridge. It cost US$690,000 at the time.