Hastings High Bridge
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The Hastings High Bridge was a continuous steel through truss bridge that spanned 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 ...
in
Hastings, Minnesota Hastings is a city mostly in Dakota County, Minnesota, of which it is the county seat, with a portion in Washington County, Minnesota. It is near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Vermillion, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin-M ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. It was designed by Sverdrup and Parcel and was built in 1951 by Graus Construction Company of Hasting for $356,000. It was demolished in late 2013 when the current Hastings Bridge opened. It had been scheduled to be torn down and replaced by
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' ...
in 2019, but after the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, it was re-prioritized and construction started in 2010.


Condition

Following the August 1, 2007 collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, the Hastings High Bridge was inspected between August 20 and August 31, 2007. An executive summary of the inspection report was released on January 15, 2008, questioning whether the bridge was capable of sustaining its 40-ton posted capacity, and calling for a load analysis to be performed immediately. Because the existing bridge was obsolete and average daily traffic exceeded 30,000 vehicles,
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' ...
accelerated the new bridge project to begin in 2010. Three design-build teams submitted proposals on June 30, 2010, and the contract was awarded to the joint venture Lunda/Ames. In June 2013, two of the four lanes of the new bridge were open for traffic, and in November 2013 all four lanes opened. The new bridge cost $130 million and is the longest free-standing tied-arch bridge in North America, at a length of 545 feet. The main span is composed of arches, girders, beams, stringers, and roadway, offering four lanes of traffic plus twelve feet of mixed use pedestrian and bike path. The new bridge has an anti-icing system. Other features include: a public art mural on the south abutment wall, a scenic overlook incorporated near Levee Park, additional parking beneath the bridge, and lighting. The new bridge is expected to have a 100-year lifespan.


The spiral bridge

When it was completed in 1951, the Hastings High Bridge replaced a
spiral bridge A spiral bridge, loop bridge, helix bridge, or pigtail bridge is a road bridge which loops over its own road, allowing the road to climb rapidly. This is useful in steep terrain, or where the approach road to a bridge would terminate too far from ...
that had been built in 1895. A spiral bridge was selected because local residents wanted the bridge to end in the downtown
business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
, rather than bypass it. In order to make the bridge level, a spiral approach was built on the south end of the bridge. Drivers would get onto the bridge in downtown Hastings, make one complete circle on the spiral, and then cross the
river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
. This bridge served the community well for many years, but towards the end of its lifespan it was
rust Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH ...
ed and could only support a 4-ton load.
School bus A school bus is any type of bus owned, leased, contracted to, or operated by a school or school district. It is regularly used to transport students to and from school or school-related activities, but not including a charter bus or transit bus ...
es filled with children were too heavy to make the trip, so the children had to walk across the bridge while the driver drove the empty bus across. After the new bridge was built, the old bridge was given to the city, but they could not raise the necessary funds to maintain it. The old bridge was torn down, to the dismay of local residents who felt they had lost a city symbol. A replica of the bridge has been built and can be seen at the Little Log House Pioneer Village south of Hastings.


See also

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List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River This is a list of all current and notable former bridges or other crossings of the Upper Mississippi River which begins at the Mississippi River's source and extends to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois. Crossings Minnesot ...


Footnotes


References

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External links


Little Log House Pioneer Show
{{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =
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 ...
, bridge = Hastings High Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream =
Rock Island Swing Bridge The Rock Island Swing Bridge was a swing bridge that spanned the Mississippi River between Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and St. Paul Park, Minnesota. It was also known as the Newport Rail Bridge, as it had a spur to Newport, Minnesota, and J.A. ...
, upstream signs = ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad'' , downstream =
Hastings Rail Bridge Hastings Rail Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota. It is one of only four lift spans on the Mississippi River, the others being at Hannibal, Missouri, Burlington, Iowa and in downtown St. Paul ...
, downstream signs = ''Canadian Pacific Railway'' Road bridges in Minnesota Bridges over the Mississippi River Bridges completed in 1895 Bridges completed in 1951 Buildings and structures in Hastings, Minnesota Continuous truss bridges in the United States U.S. Route 61 Transportation in Dakota County, Minnesota Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Great River Road Steel bridges in the United States