The new Bloomington Ferry Bridge was built on a new alignment that followed the old County Highway 18 straight south across the Minnesota River. County 18 was upgraded to a 4-lane expressway, then renamed to be US-169 when the bridge was completed. At the same time, new US-169 freeway was built around Shakopee starting at the south end of the new bridge. Later on, the Pioneer Trail and Anderson Lakes Parkway intersections, located north of the new bridge, were converted to full freeway interchanges, leaving just one grade crossing on US-169 south of I-494 in the metro area.

The new Bloomington Ferry Bridge has been the catalyst for a major boom in Savage, Shakopee, and Scott County. Prior to the new bridge, the old river crossing would flood every second or third spring, and sometimes again in the summer. The typical flood would close the crossing for a month, and cause significant damage to the approach road. Even when the old river crossing was high and dry, it was often a traffic bottleneck.

The photo above is the main river channel spans looking to the west from the south bank of the Minnesota River. While the majority of the bridge is built using precast concrete girders, the main river channel spans use steel plate girders. In addition, the piers are decorated with stone, while the remaining piers are raw concrete. The steel has additional plates welded to the girders above the piers to increase the strength of the beams. These details are rarely seen given that the main span is hidden deep within the Minnesota River Valley National Wildlife Refuge and cannot be seen from any public location other than by hiking into the refuge.

These two photos are the first of a three photo set showing a typical river crossing headed southbound towards Savage and Shakopee. In the photo above, we are just entering the north end of the western of the two bridge spans. In the photo below, we are crossing the main channel of the Minnesota River.

The photo above is the final photo of a three photo set showing a southbound river crossing. This photo is near the south end of the structure, where an exit branches off to provide access to MN-13 and CSAH-101.

The photo below is the first of a three photo set showing a typical northbound river crossing heading into Bloomington and Eden Prairie. This photo is the view just after entering the eastern of the two bridge spans from the south. The ramp merging in from the right is the ramp from westbound CSAH-101 (the former MN-101).

These two photos are the final two photos of a three photo set showing a typical northbound river crossing. In the photo above, we are nearing the main channel span over the Minnesota River. The photo below is near the north end of the structure. The right lane will branch off as an exit ramp to Old Shakopee Road.

The photo above is the main river spans looking to the west from the south bank of the Minnesota River. The photo below are the abutments at the south end of the structure looking to the east.

These two photos are views from under the south end of the structure. The access road to this location is open during the fall to allow duck hunters access to the wetlands south of the river. The photo above is looking north from the gap between the two spans. The photo below is the view from under the northbound span. Both photos are looking to the north.