The I-90 Mississippi River Bridge, or the Dresbach Bridge, consists of a pair of parallel bridges that traverse the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, connecting the

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

area to

Dresbach Dresbach Township is a township in Winona County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 456 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of ; is land and , or 14.02%, is water. ...

in rural Winona County,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. The current bridge was fully opened to traffic in October 2016, replacing a previous 1967

plate girder bridge A plate girder bridge is a bridge supported by two or more plate girders. Overview In a plate girder bridge, the plate girders are typically I-beams made up from separate structural steel plates (rather than rolled as a single cross-section), w ...

. It is part of the

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

route. There is another automobile crossing a few miles south of this bridge; the Mississippi River Bridge, a combination of two bridges, and the

La Crosse West Channel Bridge The La Crosse West Channel Bridge is a plate girder bridge that spans the west channel of the Mississippi River between Barron Island in Wisconsin, and La Crescent, MN. Together with the Mississippi River Bridge it forms a connection between La ...

, connecting La Crescent, Minnesota and

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census w ...

. The bridge consists of a pair of parallel, concrete box girder structures over the main river channel and precast concrete girder structures over the back channels. The bridges were completed with a cost of $185.5 million, and have the following specifications: *100-year design life *Length: *Width: varies between *Two lanes each direction *Eastbound acceleration lane * outside shoulders * inside shoulders The bridge connects to a redesigned I-90/US 14/US 61 interchange, and provides access to the Dresbach Rest Area/MN Welcome Center and boat launches from westbound I-90. The westbound I-90 to southbound US 14/US 61 interchange has a fly-under ramp allowing continuous movement with no competing traffic.

History

The previous bridge was a

that opened on October 12, 1967; the steel structure was painted dark green, and the bridge had a concrete railing. Although the previous bridge had no weight restrictions and operated at an acceptable level of service at the time of replacement, there were a number of problems with the 1967 bridge and surrounding roadways: * The deck was deteriorating, the most pressing issue in the short term. * The bridge was of an obsolete, non-redundant structural design similar to that of the Hoan Bridge in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which suffered a substantial structural failure. After the Hoan Bridge incident, the I-90 Mississippi River Bridge was hurriedly inspected and found to be in satisfactory condition, but concern about the basic steel structural design remained. * A lack of standard shoulders inhibited emergency responses to incidents on the bridge and did not provide enough room for disabled vehicles to get out the traffic lanes. * There were issues with the interchange on the Minnesota side, including a curve on the main travel lanes that was sharper than desirable for an interstate; a confusing design; and congestion on some of the ramps. * There were capacity problems at the Dresbach Rest Area on the Minnesota side, which had limited room for expansion. Compounding the problem, it was accessible from the eastbound direction, even though it was intended for westbound traffic only. * There were no provisions for bicyclists and pedestrians on the bridge. In 2006, the

Minnesota Department of Transportation 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' ...

(MnDOT) commissioned a study on ways to rectify some or all of these issues. Some of the options that were presented included: * Replacing the deck only, estimated cost $23 million. * Widening and rebuilding the existing structure with either additional piers or strengthening the foundation, estimated cost $40–$58 million. * Building a new westbound

girder bridge A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

and converting the existing bridge to eastbound only, estimated cost $63 million. * Building a new

, extradosed bridge, or cable stayed bridge, and demolishing the existing one, estimated cost $59–$71 million. In addition, the collapse of the

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 Minneap ...

in Minneapolis, on August 1, 2007 led to the effort by MnDOT to replace or modify "fracture-critical" bridges in the state. A concrete box girder bridge design was ultimately selected. The new bridge was constructed beginning January 2013, parallel to and upstream from the old 1967 plate girder bridge, which was demolished after it was closed April 2016.

References

{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = I-90 Mississippi River Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream =

North Channel Bridge The North Channel Bridge crosses the north channel of the Mississippi River between Latsch Island (part of Winona, Minnesota) and Buffalo County, Wisconsin. The bridge has a street setup, with one lane in either direction. It carries Minnesota ...

, upstream signs = ---- Main Channel Bridge
, downstream = La Crosse Rail Bridge , downstream signs = ''Canadian Pacific Railway'' Road bridges in Minnesota Bridges over the Mississippi River Mississippi River Bridges completed in 1967 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Plate girder bridges Road bridges in Wisconsin Steel bridges in the United States Box girder bridges in the United States Buildings and structures in La Crosse County, Wisconsin Buildings and structures in Winona County, Minnesota Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States

History

See also

References