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The Newport Rail Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota and St. Paul Park, Minnesota. It was built in 1895 by Pittsburgh Bridge Company. It is one of the few double-decker bridges on the Mississippi, with the top level formerly used for railroad traffic and the bottom level formerly used as a road crossing. The bridge was formerly owned by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until that line went bankrupt in 1980, first as a toll bridge until 1938, then as a free bridge. After that, local automotive traffic had to detour 7 1/2 miles north to the Wakota Bridge or 18 miles south to the Hastings High Bridge.
Seeing a need, a local individual, Al Roman, bought the bridge and reopened it two and a half years later. This required special legislation for an individual to own a bridge, and it became the only toll bridge in Minnesota. In 1999, an inspection revealed that the bridge had a bad beam, so it is now closed to automobile traffic. The estimated replacement cost is at least $11 million. The bridge has not been used for railroad traffic since the Rock Island went bankrupt. Roman stopped paying taxes and the bridge was seized. Washington County was handed management in 2003.
As of June 2006, Washington County, Minnesota officials are studying the removal of the bridge. County engineer Don Theisen called the bridge "a rusty bucket of bolts" and said that it impedes barge traffic. Estimated removal costs are $2 million. The plan is to tear the bridge down[citation needed] in the year 2008.
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