Wakota Bridge

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This article or section contains information about a future bridge, which is under construction.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction completed, and more information becomes available on it.

**Wakota Bridge**
Carries	Current bridge: Four lanes of Interstate 494; new bridges: Five lanes in each direction
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	South St. Paul, Minnesota-Newport, Minnesota
Maintained by	Minnesota Department of Transportation
ID number	5993
Design	Current bridge: steel-tied arch span; new bridge: segmental bridge
Longest span	Current bridge:421 feet; new bridges: 466 feet
Total length	Current bridge: 1870 feet; new bridges: 1889 feet
Width	Current bridge: 48 feet; new bridge: Five lanes in each direction
Clearance below	64 feet
Opening date	1959
Coordinates	44°52′59″N, 93°00′54″W

The Wakota Bridge is being built to carry Interstate 494 between South St. Paul and Newport, Minnesota across the Mississippi River. The name is derived from the two counties it connects, Washington and Dakota. The discovery of hairline fractures delayed the bridge's completion by a year, before it opened in the fall of 2006. At this time the "old" Wakaota bridge is being torn down to make way for the other half of the new Wakota Bridge. Related work on shore, including an enhanced interchange with U.S. Highway 61, will likely take until 2008.

The current bridge at this location, also named the Wakota Bridge, was built in 1959 as one of the first segments of Interstate 494. With two lanes in each direction, it was likely designed as a part of the Minnesota State Highway 100 beltline around the Twin Cities, and is not quite up to interstate standards. The lack of a third lane or shoulders on the bridge, as well as a lack of acceleration lanes from exits on either side of the bridge, makes the current bridge a bottleneck.

[edit] See also

List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

[edit] References

Charles Laszewski (December 2, 2005). Repairs delay I-494 bridge opening. St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Interstate 494 in Minnesota at steve-riner.com
Segments, Summer 2004 (pdf). American Segmental Bridge Institute (Summer 2004). Retrieved on 2006-05-20.
Frequently Asked Questions. I-494/Highway 61 Wakota Bridge. Minnesota Department of Transportation (May 2006). Retrieved on 2006-05-20.
Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4.