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Mendota Road Bridge

Bridges completed in 1894Bridges in Saint Paul, MinnesotaNational Register of Historic Places in Saint Paul, MinnesotaRoad bridges in MinnesotaRoad bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
Stone arch bridges in the United States
Mendota Road Bridge
Mendota Road Bridge

Mendota Road Bridge is a stone arch bridge that spans the outlet of Pickerel Lake where it meets the Mississippi River just south of downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. It was built in 1894 by the city of St. Paul and was designed by the St. Paul City Engineer's Office. The bridge is historically significant as an example of a small-scale 19th century stone arch highway bridge. The stone used in the bridge is locally quarried gray limestone. Ornamentation on the bridge includes protruding keystones at the top of the arch, a slight peak at the top of the arch, and a string course that matches the roadway level. The bridge resembles other stone arch bridges built in Minnesota townships during the late 19th century and early 20th century, but the ornamentation sets it apart. Another facet of historical importance is the fact that the bridge has never been substantially altered during its lifetime, except for a concrete cap replacing the original coping at the top of the railings. The bridge has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places (#89001825) due to its historical integrity.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Mendota Road Bridge (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Mendota Road Bridge
West Water Street, Saint Paul West Side

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Wikipedia: Mendota Road BridgeContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 44.92484 ° E -93.11189 °
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West Water Street 793
55107 Saint Paul, West Side
Minnesota, United States
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Mendota Road Bridge
Mendota Road Bridge
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Omaha Road Bridge Number 15
Omaha Road Bridge Number 15

Omaha Road Bridge Number 15 is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1915 by the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway (Omaha Road), though it, and the line from St. Paul to Mendota, was jointly owned with the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee Road). The causeway curves around Pickerel Lake in Lilydale, Minnesota, before crossing into St. Paul. The bridge was designed by I.F. Stern of Chicago. It is unusually shaped, because the swing span is asymmetrical. According to local legend, the original bridge design had equal length spans on either side of the center pivot. Once the bridge was completed, the owner of the property on the south side of the river did not want the swing span crossing his land. In response, the owner removed most of the south end of the swing span and added a concrete counterweight to compensate for the lost material. Legends aside, the reason for the "bobtail" configuration of the bridge is that the section of the river deep enough for navigation at that point is not wide enough to accommodate a full-sized swing bridge. The counterweight is necessary to keep both ends of the bridge in balance over the center pier, which is near the right descending bank. While the legend may be an appealing one, it cannot withstand the fact that no qualified bridge engineer would lavish the material and effort required to build a swing span over land. The bridge forces barge traffic heading up river to cross over to their respective port (south) shore of the river, while those heading downstream are able to maintain their normal traffic pattern. An earlier bridge in this location, built in 1869, was a wooden Howe truss design. This was one of the original 15 bridges spanning the Mississippi River. The first bridge was an 8-span drawbridge, but much of the superstructure had to be replaced in 1877 because of decay in the original pine chords. It was a joint bridge of the Minnesota Valley Railroad Company (predecessor of the Omaha Road) and the Minnesota Central Railroad Company (predecessor of the Milwaukee Road)

High Bridge (St. Paul)
High Bridge (St. Paul)

The Smith Avenue High Bridge or the High Bridge is an inverted arch bridge that carries Minnesota State Highway 149 and Smith Avenue over the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was built and opened in 1987 at a cost of $20 million. The bridge carries two lanes of street traffic over the river and is the highest bridge in St. Paul, with a deck height of 160 ft (49 m) and a clearance below of 149 ft (45 m).The current bridge replaced a 2,770-foot-long (840 m) iron Warren deck truss bridge constructed in 1889. In 1904 the original bridge was partially destroyed by a tornado or severe storm and the southernmost five spans had to be rebuilt. With modest alterations it served for nearly a century, but in 1977 an inspection found irreparable structural deficiencies. The Minnesota Department of Transportation enacted a weight restriction on the bridge until it was closed in 1984 and demolished in 1985. The ornamental ironwork on the replacement was built using iron from the old bridge. The first bridge had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and was delisted in 1988. In February 2008, City Pages, a weekly publication in the Twin Cities, published a feature about the long history of suicide at the bridge. The article included testimony of a survivor who leapt from the bridge.The bridge closed September 2017 for a redecking project. It reopened to traffic the afternoon of November 21, 2018.