High Bridge (St. Paul)
Smith Avenue High Bridge | |
---|---|
File:StPaulHighBridge.jpg
The High Bridge in early spring 2006, with downtown St. Paul in the background
|
|
Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Carries | Two lanes of MN 149 |
Crosses | Mississippi River |
Locale | St. Paul, Minnesota |
Maintained by | Minnesota Department of Transportation |
ID number | 62090 |
Characteristics | |
Design | Inverted arch and two half-arches for the main span; eight plate girder spans on the north side |
Total length | 2760 feet |
Width | 54 feet |
Longest span | 520 feet |
Clearance below | 149 feet |
History | |
Opened | July 1987 |
The High Bridge is a bridge that carries Minnesota State Highway 149 over the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was built and opened in 1987 at a cost of $20 million. The bridge is a two-lane street setup over the river. The High Bridge has a height of 160 feet (49 m), making it the highest bridge in St. Paul.[1][2]
The current bridge replaced a 2,770-foot (840 m) iron Warren deck truss bridge constructed in 1889. In 1904 the original bridge was partially destroyed by a tornado or severe storm and the southernmost five spans had to be rebuilt. With modest alterations it served for nearly a century, but in 1977 an inspection found irreparable structural deficiencies. The Minnesota Department of Transportation enacted a weight restriction on the bridge until it was closed in 1984 and demolished the following year. The ornamental ironwork on the replacement was built using iron from the old bridge.[3] The first bridge had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and was delisted in 1988.
In February 2008, City Pages, a weekly publication in the Twin Cities, published a feature about the long history of suicide at the bridge. The article included testimony of a survivor who leapt from the bridge.[4]
Contents
Gallery
-
Smith Avenue Bridge St Paul Minnesota.jpg
Original High Bridge circa 1890
-
Wreck of the High Bridge 1904.jpg
Wreck of the High Bridge in the storm of 1904
-
St Paul High Bridge 2014.jpg
Current High Bridge from the northwest
See also
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ St. Paul's High Bridge: Suicide Hot Spot - City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
External links
- Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
- Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons
- Historic American Engineering Record: Smith Avenue High Bridge
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages using deprecated coordinates format
- 1987 establishments in Minnesota
- Bridges completed in 1895
- Bridges completed in 1987
- Bridges in Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
- Bridges over the Mississippi River
- Deck arch bridges
- Former National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
- National Register of Historic Places in Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Plate girder bridges
- Road bridges in Minnesota