Main Channel Bridge (Winona)

Main Channel Bridge (Winona) is a cantilever bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Winona, Minnesota and Fountain City, Wisconsin. Construction on the bridge was started just before the United States entered World War II, and the construction was hastened to finish in November 1942, despite labor shortages, difficulty obtaining materials, and high water. It was built in 1941-1942 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT).

On May 17, 2008, the United States Postal Service announced that the bridge would be on the Minnesota Sesquicentennial commemorative stamp.^[1]

Following an inspection of the bridge's gusset plates, it was announced by MnDOT that the bridge would close June 3, 2008. Gusset plates were the components suspected in the collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge. The bridge was expected to be closed for several weeks with over 60 mile long detours as an alternative.^[2] The bridge reopened on June 14, 2008.

See also

• List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

References

• Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4. 

External links

• Historic American Engineering Record (Library of Congress) Survey number HAER MN-91 also covers the more elegant Winona Main Channel Bridge less than a half mile south of the north channel bridge. The actual navigable channel of the Mississippi passes beneath the main channel bridge.