Mendota Bridge

{{Infobox bridge

|bridge_name=Mendota Bridge

|image=Aerial view of Mendota Bridge and historic Fort Snelling 2019-05-26.jpg

|caption=Aerial view of the Mendota Bridge from the south.

|official_name=

|crosses=Minnesota River

|carries=Four lanes of {{jct|state=MN|MN|55|MN|62|dab2=Hennepin–Dakota counties}}

|locale=Mendota Heights and Fort Snelling, Minnesota

|design=13 arch spans

|mainspan={{convert|304|ft|m|abbr=on}} {{cite web |author=Minnesota Department of Transportation |date=June 15, 2006 |url=https://www.dot.state.mn.us/historicbridges/bridge/4190/management-plan2006.pdf |title=Bridge Number 4190: Executive summary |work=Historic Bridge Management Plan |publisher=Minnesota Department of Transportation |page = 1 |access-date=December 7, 2015 }}

|length={{convert|4,113|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|width={{convert|71|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|below={{convert|100|ft|m|abbr=on}}

|open=1926, 1994

|maint=Minnesota Department of Transportation

|id=4190

|coordinates = {{coord|44.887341|-93.177564|display=inline,title}}

|clearance=

|traffic=39000 vehicles/day

|closed=

|toll=

}}{{stack|File:Mendota Bridge underside.jpg}}The Mendota Bridge (full name Fort Snelling–Mendota Bridge), in the US state of Minnesota carries State Highway 55 (MN 55) and MN 62 over the Minnesota River between Fort Snelling and Mendota Heights. It is the final bridge over the Minnesota River before the Minnesota flows into the Mississippi River at the "Meeting of the waters" or "Mendota" in the Dakota language. Traffic on the north end of the bridge may turn onto the Fort Road Bridge (MN 5) to cross the Mississippi River into Saint Paul, Minnesota. The skylines of both Minneapolis and Saint Paul can be seen simultaneously from the bridge.

History

The structure was designed by C.A.P. Turner and Walter H. Wheeler.{{cite web |last=Frame |first=Robert M. |date=April 27, 2006 |url=https://www.dot.state.mn.us/historicbridges/bridge/4190/property-record.pdf |title=Bridge Number 4190 |work=Minnesota Historic Property Records |pages = 1–2 |access-date=December 7, 2015 }} Turner also designed the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth, Minnesota, and the Liberty Memorial Bridge between Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota.

File:The Mendota Bridge Under Construction - A Pier - DPLA - 6af3e3df4c0aa4e54aa849060168ec6f.jpg

The bridge is dedicated to the "Gopher Gunners", 151st Field Artillery who died in World War I.{{cite web |url=https://www.dakotahistory.org/county/mendota.asp |title=Historic Sites: Mendota |publisher=Dakota County Historical Society |access-date=January 1, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314081435/https://www.dakotahistory.org/county/mendota.asp |archive-date=March 14, 2012 }}

It has a length of {{convert|4,113|ft|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 {{convert|304|ft|m}} wide. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Between 1940 and 1965, the bridge also carried the concurrent designation of MN 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 {{convert|2|ft|m|spell=in}} higher than the original.

References

External links

{{stack|{{commons category|Mendota Bridge}}}}

[https://www.johnweeks.com/bridges/pages/mn01.html Mendota Bridge] in Highways, Byways, And Bridge Photography
[https://www.nationalbridges.com/ National Bridge Inventory]

{{Crossings navbox

| structure = Bridges

| place = Minnesota River

| bridge = Mendota Bridge

| bridge signs = File:MN-55.svg File:MN-62.svg

| upstream = I-494 Bridge

| upstream signs = File:I-494.svg

| downstream = Fort Snelling Park Foot Bridge

| downstream signs =

}}

Category:Bridges completed in 1926

Category:Bridges in Hennepin County, Minnesota