The 10th Avenue Bridge crosses the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

near downtown

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origi ...

and also in proximity to the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

. The bridge historically was called the Cedar Avenue Bridge from days prior to the construction of the I-35W bridge when it connected to Cedar Ave.Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT)Local Historic Bridge Report- Abridged, Bridge Number:2796
State of Minnesota Department of Transportation, LHB, Mead & Hunt. September 2014 The bridge connects 10th Avenue Southeast, on the east side of the Mississippi River to 19th Avenue South, on the west side. The Seven Corners area of the

Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis Cedar-Riverside, also referred to as the West Bank, or simply Riverside, is a neighborhood within Minneapolis, Minnesota. Its boundaries are the Mississippi River to the north and east, Interstate 94 to the south, and Hiawatha Avenue and Inter ...

neighborhood is at the south end of the bridge. The downstream end of the lower Saint Anthony Falls

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

and dam extends under the bridge. The historic

Southeast Steam Plant The Southeast Steam Plant, formerly known as the Twin City Rapid Transit Company Steam Power Plant, is a combined heat and power plant on the Mississippi River in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota in the United States owned by the University of ...

is also nearby. The bridge is considered the crowning achievement of Minneapolis city engineer Kristoffer Olsen Oustad, who was one of four prominent

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men who designed major structures in the region.

History

A bridge known as the "10th Avenue Bridge" was built upstream from the current bridge in 1874.Millett, Larry
The colorful, confusing history of the two 10th Avenue Bridges in Minneapolis
Star Tribune, June 11, 2021 That bridge extended from 10th Avenue South in downtown Minneapolis to 6th Avenue Southeast. It also was known as the "Tenth Avenue wagon bridge". The piers still are visible upstream from the current

I-35W Mississippi River bridge The I-35W Mississippi River bridge (officially known as Bridge 9340) was an eight-lane, steel truss arch bridge that carried Interstate 35W across the Mississippi River one-half mile (875 m) downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minne ...

. That bridge was demolished in 1943 to provide scrap for the World War II war effort. Construction on the current bridge began in 1926, and it was completed in 1929. It was built to alleviate the traffic flows on the bridges serving downtown. The total length is 2,174.9 feet (662.9 m), with two central spans each 265.5 feet (80.9 m) across. It has an

open spandrel A spandrel is a roughly triangular space, usually found in pairs, between the top of an arch and a rectangular frame; between the tops of two adjacent arches or one of the four spaces between a circle within a square. They are frequently fill ...

arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vau ...

design, and it is constructed of

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion ...

. Higher and longer than any preceding bridge in the region, it was originally 2,921 feet (890.3 m) in overall length, 698 feet (213 m) longer than the nearby Third Avenue Bridge. It stands 110 feet (33.5 m) above the water's surface. The budgeted cost of the bridge in 1922 was US$943,209.71. For many years it was the river crossing for

Minnesota State Highway 36 Minnesota State Highway 36 (MN 36) is a highway in Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 35W in Roseville and continues east to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line (near Stillwater), where it becomes Wi ...

. A major restoration was undertaken in 1972–1976, and the approach spans were altered (they were not considered architecturally significant, even when the bridge was new). The south approach span was relocated to go straight to Washington Avenue. The bridge was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1989. Roads in the vicinity were disrupted by the construction of Interstate 35W and a corresponding bridge (completed 1967; collapsed in 2007) one to two blocks upstream. During the days immediately following the I-35W bridge collapse, the 10th Avenue Bridge was closed to traffic, then later reopened; it was one of the most used locations from which to view the wreckage and the recovery efforts. The bridge was reported to be deteriorating in 2015. It was closed in 2020 to replace the bridge deck and other deteriorating concrete components.Harlow, Tim
Road construction season begins with Monday closure of 10th Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis
Star Tribune, March 27, 2020 It re-opened to traffic and pedestrians in November 2021.

Gallery

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Bridges over the Mississippi River Bridges in Minneapolis Bridges completed in 1929 National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 1929 establishments in Minnesota Concrete bridges in the United States Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States

History

Gallery

See also

References