Bridge No. 90646, also known as the Wooddale Avenue Bridge, is a multi-plate steel arch bridge that carries a local street over Minnehaha Creek in Edina, Minnesota, United States. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 2016.

History

The area was originally part of the George W. Baird farm, but in the 1920s much of the farmstead was sold off for development. In 1922, the Edina Country Club housing subdivision was platted, just north of the bridge and north of 50th Street. The Edina Country Club, west of the bridge, was opened in 1923, and other portions of Edina were being developed as well. As traffic increased, the original steel beam bridge was no longer sufficient to accommodate all the vehicles, so the city of Edina sought a replacement in 1937. On March 8, 1937, the Edina City Council accepted the proposal by Lyle Culvert & Pipe Company to build an

Armco AK Steel Holdings Corporation was a steelmaking company headquartered in West Chester Township, Butler County, Ohio. The company, whose name was derived from the initials of Armco, its predecessor company, and Kawasaki Steel Corporation, was a ...

multi-plate arch bridge. The facing was proposed to be irregularly coursed boulder stone, designed in the

WPA Rustic WPA Rustic architecture is an architectural style from the era of the U.S. New Deal Works Project Administration. The WPA provided funding for architects to create a variety of buildings, including amphitheaters and lodges. WPA architecture is akin ...

style. Construction began in May 1937, but in July 1937, the design of the stone facing was changed from boulder stone to limestone. This was done to harmonize with the limestone veneer on the nearby St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The construction schedule did not appear to be set back. Construction was largely complete in August 1937, and a city newsletter published in September 1937 shows the completed bridge.

Design and construction

The bridge is long, has a span length of , and a width of . It is faced with

Platteville limestone The Platteville Limestone is the Ordovician limestone formation in the sedimentary sequence characteristic of the upper Midwestern United States. It is characterized by its gray color, rough texture, and numerous fossils. Its type locality is P ...

The multi-plate arch bridge design was introduced in 1931 by the Armco Culvert Manufacturer's Association. The plates are made of galvanized corrugated steel, manufactured in curved segments, and assembled on site to build an arch. The corrugations, about wide and deep, formed a very strong bridge. The multi-plate arch design was popular in the 1930s as an alternative to

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

slab-and-girder construction for bridges with a short span. The bridge could also be assembled by unskilled labor, and the stone masonry was labor-intensive, so the Works Progress Administration was able to employ a number of people in its construction. While many multi-plate arch bridges were built in Minnesota during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, bridges of that type are increasingly rare. A 1988 survey found 35 surviving multi-plate arch bridges in the state, but in 2014, only eight of these bridges were left.

Consideration of removal

In December 2022, the City of Edina announced that the bridge is being considered for major renovations or complete replacement due to the deteriorating limestone railings and steel arches. Bridge 90646 Northwest View

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota 1937 establishments in Minnesota Arch bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1937 Buildings and structures in Edina, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Hennepin County, Minnesota Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Rustic architecture in Minnesota Steel bridges in the United States Works Progress Administration in Minnesota

History

Design and construction

Consideration of removal

See also

References