Northern Pacific-BNSF Minneapolis Rail Bridge

Northern Pacific-BNSF Minneapolis Rail Bridge
Coordinates 45°00′16″N 93°16′28″W / 45.00444°N 93.27444°W / 45.00444; -93.27444Coordinates: 45°00′16″N 93°16′28″W / 45.00444°N 93.27444°W / 45.00444; -93.27444
Carries Two tracks of the BNSF Railway
Crosses Mississippi River
Locale Minneapolis, Minnesota
Maintained by BNSF Railway
ID number 12.1
Characteristics
Design Seven plate girder spans and one through-truss span
Total length 821 feet (250 m)
Width Two tracks
Longest span 192 feet (59 m)
Clearance below 27 feet (8.2 m)
History
Opened 1884

Bridges over the Mississippi in Minneapolis–St. Paul. N. Pacific-BNSF Minneapolis Bridge is in the middle of this image between the bridges on Lowry and Broadway Avenues

Northern Pacific-BNSF Minneapolis Rail Bridge is a combination plate girder bridge and truss bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

It was built in 1884 by the Northern Pacific Railway. The bridge was originally built in 1884 with five through-trusses. In 1927, it was renovated with nine plate-girder spans. In 1963, to provide upstream river navigation, two girder spans and three regular piers were removed to make room for a Warren truss span over the main channel, set on two heavier piers. This work took almost two years.

The bridge was originally built to provide access to Northern Pacific's yards just north of downtown Minneapolis. By the 1980s the yards were mostly gone, but the bridge remains as a link to industries located north of downtown that still require rail service by Northern Pacific successor BNSF.

See also

References

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