Mendota Bridge

Mendota Bridge
Aerial view of the Mendota Bridge from the south.
Coordinates	44.887341°N 93.177564°W/44.887341; -93.177564
Carries	Four lanes ofMN 55/MN 62
Crosses	Minnesota River
Locale	Mendota HeightsandFort Snelling, Minnesota
Maintained by	Minnesota Department of Transportation
ID number	4190
Characteristics
Design	13arch spans
Total length	4,113 ft (1,254 m)
Width	71 ft (22 m)
Longest span	304 ft (93 m)
Clearance below	100 ft (30 m)
History
Opened	1926, 1994
Statistics
Daily traffic	39000 vehicles/day
Location

TheMendota Bridge(full nameFort Snelling–Mendota Bridge), in the US state ofMinnesotacarriesState Highway 55(MN 55) andMN 62over theMinnesota RiverbetweenFort SnellingandMendota Heights.It is the final bridge over the Minnesota River before the Minnesota flows into theMississippi Riverat the "Meeting of the waters" or "Mendota" in theDakota language.Traffic on the north end of the bridge may turn onto theFort Road Bridge(MN 5) to cross the Mississippi River intoSaint Paul, Minnesota.The skylines of both Minneapolis and Saint Paul can be seen simultaneously from the bridge.

History

The structure was designed byC.A.P. TurnerandWalter H. Wheeler.Turner also designed theAerial Lift BridgeinDuluth, Minnesota,and theLiberty Memorial BridgebetweenBismarckandMandan, North Dakota.

Underside of the bridge showing detail of the arches, spandrels, and deck

The bridge is dedicated to the "Gopher Gunners",151st Field Artillerywho died in World War I.

It has a length of 4,113 feet (1,254 m) and was the longest continuous concrete arch bridge in the world when it was constructed in 1924–1926. It consists of 13 arches each 304 feet (93 m) wide.It was added to theNational Register of Historic Placesin 1979.

Between 1940 and 1965, the bridge also carried theconcurrentdesignation ofMN 100.

From 1992 to 1994, the old bridge was demolished down to the arches and rebuilt from the arches up with the new wider deck two feet (0.61 m) higher than the original.

See also

• List of crossings of the Minnesota River

External links

• Mendota BridgeinHighways, Byways, And Bridge Photography
• National Bridge Inventory