Cedar Avenue Bridge (Minnesota River)

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A picture of the Cedar Avenue Bridge taken in early spring, 2006. This view is taken from the south end of the bridge looking northward.

The Cedar Avenue Bridge is in Minnesota, it carries Minnesota State Highway 77 across the Minnesota River between the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburbs of Bloomington and Eagan, Minnesota. The two parallel crossings for northbound and southbound lanes are respectively 5,159 feet (1,572 m) and 5,185 feet (1,580 m) in length. It was built in 1979, superseding an older swing bridge by the same name that was composed of low-lying truss segments.

The original Cedar Avenue Bridge was built in 1890 and carried automobile traffic into the 1990s. The narrow span continued operation as a bicycle trail until 2002 when it was deemed too unsafe. Back when the old structure was the main crossing, heavy traffic delays would occur because of the bridge's small size and the need to operate the swing segment to let boat traffic pass. The modern bridge has three lanes in each direction, in addition to a shoulder which is often used by buses to get past traffic slowdowns.

[edit] References

• Weeks III, John A.. Cedar Avenue Bridge. Retrieved on March 21, 2006.