The Baudette – Rainy River International Bridge is an international

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

connecting

Rainy River, Ontario Rainy River is a town in north-western Ontario, Canada, southeast of Lake of the Woods. Rainy River is situated on the eponymous Rainy River (Minnesota–Ontario), Rainy River, which forms part of the Ontario-Minnesota segment of the Canada–Uni ...

, Canada, with

Baudette, Minnesota Baudette is a city in, and the county seat of, Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 1,106, and in 2018 the population was estimated at 1,003. Baudette is known as the Walleye Capital of th ...

, United States, across the Rainy River. The bridge marks the western terminus of

Ontario Highway 11 King's Highway 11, commonly referred to as Highway 11, is a Ontario Provincial Highway Network, provincially maintained highway in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. At , it is the second longest highway in the ...

(as Atwood Avenue) and the northern terminus of

Minnesota State Highway 72 Minnesota State Highway 72 (MN 72) is a highway in northwest Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. 71 in Blackduck and continues north to its northern terminus at the Canada–US border in Baudette. The road conti ...

(International Drive). The bridge is owned by Ontario and Minnesota, and is managed by

MTO MTO may refer to: * MTO, French mural and graffiti artist, film maker * MTO, IATA code for Coles County Memorial Airport in Mattoon-Charleston, Illinois * MTO, National Rail station code for Marton railway station (Middlesbrough), in England * MT ...

(with funding from the Government of Canada) and

MnDOT The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state' ...

, respectively. The bridge carries 2 lanes of traffic and a sidewalk for pedestrian traffic. Customs plazas are located on both sides of the bridge. Downriver from the bridge is Baudette-Rainy River Rail Bridge, built in 1901 for

Ontario and Rainy River Railway The Ontario and Rainy River Railway was a railway that existed briefly in the late 19th century. The company had been incorporated in 1886 to build a railway from Port Arthur, Ontario to the Rainy River. On the 4th of May 1899, the chief promoters ...

and now used by

CN Rail The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

Replacement

A new replacement bridge has been completed and opened to traffic in October 2020. Destruction of the old structure has begun and is expected to be completed by fall 2021 when a Grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new bridge will take place.

Border crossing

The Baudette–Rainy River Border Crossing connects the cities of

and

at the Baudette–Rainy River International Bridge. The Port of Entry was established in 1960 when the International Bridge was completed. Prior to 1960, the cities were connected via point-to-point ferry service as well as a railroad bridge.

References

1960 establishments in Minnesota 1960 establishments in Ontario 2020 establishments in Minnesota 2020 establishments in Ontario Baudette, Minnesota Bridges completed in 1960 Bridges completed in 2020 Buildings and structures in Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota Buildings and structures in Rainy River District Canada–United States bridges Road bridges in Ontario Road bridges in Minnesota Steel bridges in the United States Steel bridges in Canada Transport in Rainy River District Transportation in Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota Truss bridges in Canada Truss bridges in the United States {{Minnesota-bridge-struct-stub