Note—these bridges are in the bonus section since they do not cross the main channel of the Mississippi River.

Photo above is an overview of the tailrace canal. This canal collects the outlets of the various feeder tunnels that powered factories and mills up to several blocks away from the river, and returns that water to the Mississippi downstream of the falls. At one time, there were over 12 miles of active power tunnels and canals on the Minneapolis side of the river. This area had been covered in various construction projects since the 1940's. It was uncovered in 2001.

This is bridge #1, a concrete girder over the southernmost outlet of the tailrace canal. There is a parking area for the Mill Ruins Park just below this bridge.

The photo above is bridge #2, the northern of the two concrete girder bridges over the outlet of the tailrace canal. The photo below is bridge #3, a steel bridge over a power tunnel outlet. This tunnel is the outlet from one of the large flour mills. The steel structure is the remains of a former Minneapolis and Eastern Railroad trestle that once carried passenger traffic into the downtown railroad Depot.

The photo above is bridge #4, another steel pedestrian bridge, this one, over the main canal channel. Below is another view of bridge #4.

In the photo above, the tailrace canal flows under a massive rock and concrete block that forms bridge #5, which provides access from downtown Minneapolis to the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock, and to the Mill Ruins Park. Another tunnel outlet is just to the left of the tree in the middle of the photo. Below, we see a photo of the roadway as it crosses bridges #1 and #2.

The above photo is item #6 on the map below. It is the intake for one of the power tunnel systems. It currently provides water flow for the Mill Ruins Park. The intake is behind the lock and dam. From here, the water will fall 50 feet before it rejoins the great river. Below is the west river parkway behind the Mill City Museum. The wood planking simulates the historic road surface where wood planks formed a bridge deck to carry traffic over a power canal that was carrying water to the two largest flour mills.

The photo above are of the two largest mills on the Minneapolis side of the river. The west side of the river is referred to as the Minneapolis side since the east side was once the city of Saint Anthony. The city of Saint Anthony merged with Minneapolis in 1872. The nearest mill is the Gold Medal Flour mill. Next to is the burned out shell of the Washburn A Mill, now the Mill City Museum. Further down is a mill converted into a top shelf hotel.

There once was a second row of mills between the location where this photo was taken (near the river) and the remaining mills. This included the Minneapolis Mill, Excelsior Mill, Empire Mill, and the Pillsbury B Mill. Those were destroyed in a fire in 1881, and the foundations form the basis of the Mill Ruins Park.

Below is an aerial photo of the Mill Ruins area. The various bridges are numbered or otherwise labeled.