Mendota Bridge

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Mendota Bridge
Three spans of the Mendota Bridge as viewed from the west side, in Fort Snelling State Park.
Carries	Four lanes of Minnesota State Highway 55
Crosses	Minnesota River
Locale	Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
Maintained by	Minnesota Department of Transportation
ID number	4190
Design	13 arch spans
Total length	4119 feet (1253.8 m)
Width	71 feet (21.6 m)
Clearance below	100 feet (30.5 m)
AADT	39000 vehicles/day
Opening date	1926, 1994
Maps and aerial photos

The Mendota Bridge carries Minnesota State Highway 55 over the Minnesota River between Fort Snelling and Mendota. It is the final bridge over the Minnesota River before the Minnesota flows into the Mississippi River at the "Meeting of the waters" or "Mendota" in the Dakota language. Traffic on the North end of the bridge may turn onto the Fort Road Bridge to cross the Mississippi into St. Paul, Minnesota. The skylines of both Minneapolis and St. Paul can be seen simultaneously from the bridge.

[edit] History

The structure was designed by C.A.P. Turner and Walter H. Wheeler. Turner also designed the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth, Minnesota and the Liberty Memorial Bridge between Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota.

It was the longest concrete arch bridge in the world when it was constructed in 1926. Often called the "mile-long bridge", it is actually 4,119 feet (1,255 meters) in length. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Between 1940 and 1965, the bridge also carried the multiplexed designation of Highway 100.

From 1992-1994, the bridge was rebuilt. The old bridge was demolished down to the arches. A new wider deck was installed.

A look at the bridge from underneath, showing the details of the arches, spandrels, and deck. This was taken in Fort Snelling State Park.

[edit] See also

List of crossings of the Minnesota River

[edit] References

National Bridge Inventory

Bridges of the Minnesota River

Upstream
I-494 Bridge

Mendota Bridge

Downstream
Fort Snelling Park Foot Bridge

Coordinates: 44°53′06″N, 93°10′25″W

v • d • e U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Keeper of the Register · History of the National Register of Historic Places · Property types · Historic district · Contributing property

List of entries National Park Service · National Historic Landmarks · National Battlefields · National Historic Sites · National Historical Parks · National Memorials · National Monuments

v • d • e

Features of Dakota County, Minnesota

Communities

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Dakota County, Minnesota

County seat: Hastings

Cities	Apple Valley \| Burnsville \| Coates \| Eagan \| Farmington \| Hampton \| Hastings† \| Inver Grove Heights \| Lakeville \| Lilydale \| Mendota \| Mendota Heights \| Miesville \| New Trier \| Northfield‡ \| Randolph \| Rosemount \| South St. Paul \| Sunfish Lake \| Vermillion \| West St. Paul

Townships	Castle Rock \| Douglas \| Empire \| Eureka \| Greenvale \| Hampton \| Marshan \| Nininger \| Randolph \| Ravenna \| Sciota \| Vermillion \| Waterford

Ghost town	Nininger

Footnotes	‡This city also has portions in an adjacent county