The Mendota Bridge (full name Fort Snelling–Mendota Bridge), in the US state of

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 ...

carries State Highway 55 (MN 55) and MN 62 over the

Minnesota River The Minnesota River ( dak, Mnísota Wakpá) is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles (534 km) long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa. It ris ...

between

Fort Snelling Fort Snelling is a former military fortification and National Historic Landmark in the U.S. state of Minnesota on the bluffs overlooking the confluence of the Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers. The military site was initially named Fort Saint Anth ...

and

Mendota Heights Mendota Heights is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. It is a first ring southern suburb of the Twin Cities. The population was 11,744 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Geography According to ...

. It is the final bridge over the Minnesota River before the Minnesota flows into 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 ...

at the "Meeting of the waters" or "Mendota" in the

Dakota language Dakota (''Dakhótiyapi, Dakȟótiyapi''), also referred to as Dakhota, is a Siouan language spoken by the Dakota people of the Sioux tribes. Dakota is closely related to and mutually intelligible with the Lakota language. It is critically endan ...

. 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 Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

. 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. Turner also designed the

Aerial Lift Bridge The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever constructe ...

Duluth, Minnesota , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, and the

Liberty Memorial Bridge The Liberty Memorial Bridge, across the Missouri River connecting the "twin cities" of Bismarck and Mandan, North Dakota, also known as Missouri River Bridge, was a Warren-Turner through truss structure that was built in 1920. It was listed on t ...

between Bismarck and

Mandan, North Dakota Mandan is a city on the eastern border of Morton County and the eighth-largest city in North Dakota. Founded in 1879 on the west side of the upper Missouri River, it was designated in 1881 as the county seat of Morton County. The population was ...

. The bridge is dedicated to the "Gopher Gunners", 151st Field Artillery who died in World War I. It has a length of and was the longest continuous concrete arch bridge in the world when it was constructed in 1924–1926. It consists of 13 arches each wide. It 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 v ...

in 1979. Between 1940 and 1965, the bridge also carried the

concurrent Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

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 higher than the original.

References

External links

Mendota Bridge
in ''Highways, Byways, And Bridge Photography''
National Bridge Inventory
{{Dakota County, Minnesota topics Bridges completed in 1926 Bridges in Hennepin County, Minnesota Bridges over the Minnesota River Buildings and structures in Dakota County, Minnesota Concrete bridges in Minnesota Great River Road Mendota, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Dakota County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Hennepin County, Minnesota Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Transportation in Dakota County, Minnesota

History

See also

References

External links