St. Paul Union Pacific Rail Bridge

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St. Paul Union Pacific Rail Bridge
Carries	One track of the Union Pacific Railroad
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	St. Paul, Minnesota
Maintained by	Union Pacific Railroad
ID number	K-526.82A
Design	Swing bridge
Longest span	401 feet
Total length	1275 feet
Width	18 feet
Clearance below	20 feet
Opening date	1910
Coordinates	44°55′07″N, 93°02′03″W

St. Paul Union Pacific Rail Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River between South Saint Paul, Minnesota and Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was built in 1910 by the St. Paul Bridge and Terminal Railway, and was rebuilt in 1925, after a flood in 1951, and again in 1982. Access to the bridge is very limited, because there are active railroad yards on both sides of the bridge.

The Union Pacific Railroad mainline from Des Moines, informally known as the "Spine Line", enters the Twin Cities area and terminates in a yard in South Saint Paul. This line was formerly part of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. From this area, traffic to downtown St. Paul takes two routes: one across this bridge, with yards on the east side of the river south of Dayton's Bluff; and the other route using the St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge into downtown St. Paul.

Bridges of the Mississippi River Upstream Lafayette Bridge St. Paul Union Pacific Rail Bridge Downstream Wakota Bridge

[edit] See also

• List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

[edit] References

• Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4. 
• Meyer, Dan. Twin City Railfan's Guide. Retrieved on 2006-05-25.