This bridge is unique in that it was the last operating toll bridge in the twin cities metro area, and it was the last operating swing bridge for auto traffic. The cars use the bottom deck, while the train uses the top deck. That is a relatively unusual arrangement given that trains normally use the lower deck of a shared bridge. The auto deck is only about one and a half lanes wide, so two cars were only barely able to pass on the bridge.

The final toll when I last crossed this bridge was 75 cents. That was in the mid-1990s when the Wakota bridge was being rebuilt. In fact, the extensive backups on the Wakota bridge drove a lot of car traffic to this old toll bridge.

The bridge was built in 1895 and was owned by the Rock Island Railroad. The Rock Island went bankrupt in 1980, and a local entrepreneur bought the bridge from the receivers. The state of Minnesota had no provisions for a private person to own a river bridge, so a special law was passed to allow the bridge to be operated by a private concern.

An inspection in 1999 found a bad section in the bridge. The owner could not afford the repair, so the bridge was forced to close. That is too bad. It would be a great alternative to the massive traffic jams we see in 2005 due to the Wakota Bridge replacement project. The rail deck hasn't been used since the Rock Island ceased operations. Local kids set fire to the bridge in 2006, further damaging the structure. The owners have since stopped paying taxes on the bridge, resulting in ownership of the bridge reverting to Washington County. The county is looking at removing the bridge, a project that would cost several million dollars to complete.

When this bridge was open to auto traffic, it was maintained in the closed position, and only opened when a river boat needed to pass. Today, the bridge is maintained in the open position. Another uncommon feature of this bridge is that when it is open, there are two navigation channels, one on either side of the pivot point of the swing span. Despite remaining open and having two navigation channels, the bridge is considered to be a navigation hazard and a security threat to the nearby refinery. The US Coast Guard has formally ordered that the bridge be removed due to being a navigation hazard.

Bridge is also known as the Saint Paul Park Bridge, Newport Bridge, and the JAR Bridge (for Joan and Alfred Roman, the former owners). To find this bridge, head south of I-494 on Concord Blvd, then make a left to head east on 66th Street East. The bridge will be about a half mile down the road. The road is blocked off, and it is illegal to trespass on the bridge. The best view of the bridge is from the marina just north of the bridge. When you get to the end of 66th Street, make a left, head into the marina, then loop back towards the marina restaurant. There is no public access to the east end of the bridge.

Update—the National Park Service sponsored a bridge open house on October 25, 2008. This gave the general public a chance to get a guided tour of the structure. An unexpectedly large number of people turned out for the tours, giving the Park Service hope that there is a large amount of interest in saving at least part of this old bridge.

Update—on the morning of November 21, 2008, it was noticed that a 200 foot section of the bridge on the Washington County side of the swing span (eastern end of the bridge) had collapsed under its own weight into the floodplain. The collapse underscores how badly the bridge has deteriorated, and may dash the hopes of the National Park Service to save part of the structure.

Update—the Veit Companies has been awarded a contract to demolish and remove the Rock Island Bridge. Major work on the project was undertaken in March, 2009, with the removal of the eastern approach, the swing span, and the western-most bridge span. Several of the fixed spans were removed in April and May, leaving little hope of saving any of the bridge for future reuse.

Update—as of August, 2009, this old bridge might yet get a second lease on life. A pre-demolition survey found that two of the bridge truss spans were still in reasonable condition and could potentially be saved. The city of Inver Grove Heights submitted several grant requests. Nearly a million and a half dollars of money was pledged to their proposal to create a 670-foot long pier using the two remaining 140-foot long bridge spans, plus building two new spans (one of 140 feet, the other 250 feet long). A problem with this plan has cropped up in that ownership of the bridge is in dispute, and the city is unable to obtain the title on the remaining portion of the bridge. Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard is demanding that the demolition be finished and the river be cleaned up. In fact, Dakota County had scheduled the final phases of the demolition for June, 2009. The state legislature stepped in and passed a bill prohibiting that work from moving forward. The city of Inver Grove Heights has won a stay of execution for the bridge, but now must sort out the ownership among 10 governmental agencies before the grants expire. A side effect of the legislative action is that crews are unable to remove the old swing span pier from the river, which presents a major obstacle to safe river navigation.

This photo from the spring of 2005 shows the entry road and the toll booth. The entry road is blocked off with a white and orange barricade, a pile of dirt, and section of guard rail placed across the roadway. Despite years of disuse, the pavement marking is still visible. The power lines appear to have been removed.

Fast forward to the fall of 2006, and the toll booth has been removed. It must have been pulled out fairly recently given that there is no grass growing in that area yet.

A view of the railroad trestle on the west side of the river crossing. The bridge has a very unusual configuration of having road traffic on the bottom and rail traffic on the top.

Here we see the entry road as it makes a sharp S-turn to enter the bridge on the west side of the Mississippi. A section of guard rail is missing, something that is common further out on the bridge.

Here is a close-up of the damage from the summer 2006 fire that was set by trespassers. A 22 foot section of the rail trestle was destroyed. Notice the large fence section on top of the rail bridge to try to keep trespassers from walking out on the railroad tracks.

This is another view of the roadway as it enters the bridge. The sign indicates that there is exactly 11 feet of vertical clearance.

Here is a view along the outside of the fixed span of the bridge. The piers appear to be in excellent condition, as least the parts that are above the waterline. The steel looks to be in pretty good condition, too, despite some surface rust and missing paint.

Here is a look down the infinite corridor of time, space, and dimension. The bridge deck appears to be blacktop pavement put down over corrugated steel sheets. It is in excellent condition. The railings, however, have seen better days. A good fraction of the railings are gone, and the remaining railings look to be unsafe.

A quick look back shows what an automobile driver would see as they come to the end of the crossing. I recall this sign as being yellow with a big black arrow. However, people tell me that this was actually an advertising sign.

This photo is a view downstream of the bridge. We see a few small islands, a few abandoned houseboats and a pair of river going tow boats.

A look up river shows just how wide the great river is despite being so far north. There is a large marina located just to the left of this photo.

Looking upward, we see that the railroad track is set off to one side of the upper deck. I have no idea why that was done. There isn't enough space for a parallel railroad track, so I would have expected that the rail line would be centered. The full width of the 442 foot long swing span is seen in the distance.

This fixture was once a stoplight that warned motorists that the swing span was about to open, or that it was currently open. Vandals have taken a toll on anything that can be broken or removed by hand. In the background, we can see a portion of the refinery in Saint Paul Park. The Rock Island bridge enters Saint Paul Park right behind the refinery, and the road to the bridge circles 3 sides of the complex. These roads have been identified as a homeland security threat, so they have been closed and blocked off.

The roadway simply ends where it would meet the swing span. There are no barricades or fences. Then again, this place is posted for no trespassing, so there should be no need for any human comforts. It looks like there was an attempt to put a cable across the roadway, but it is laying on the pavement rusting away. It is also rather windy out here given that the bridge deck is sitting high above the water and there are no trees or objects to slow down the wind.

This is a close-up view of the swing span at its pivot point. The bridge tender house is hung off of the side of the swing span. These days, the span is left in the open position all the time. Despite the bridge being closed, river traffic is still forced to navigate through a relatively narrow gap. A sign stating that this is the JAR Bridge is positioned just above the railroad tracks. Note that the fixed bridge structure on the east side of the river is visible, and that the roadway does have a barricade (look for the yellow pipes). In addition, the stoplight on the east end is still intact. The east portal has not seen the visitors and vandals that are common to the west side, apparently due to the security at the refinery.

This is a view of the fixed portion of the Mississippi River span as seen from the marina just upstream from the Rock Island Bridge.

This photo shows the portal on the east end of the bridge. The road on the east end of the bridge has been abandoned and turned over to the Marathon Oil Corporation refinery. Since 9/11, the refinery people somehow think that they are a big terrorist target, so they have been real Nazis when it comes to security. Anyone attempting to look at or photograph the east side of the bridge was quickly harassed. This structure collapsed in November, 2008, and was removed in March, 2009.

This photo shows the swing span in the closed position as part of the demolition on March 8, 2009. This is the first time that the bridge has been operated since it closed to traffic in 1999, and the last time that the bridge was closed before the swing span was demolished.

This is another view of the bridge in the closed position. Part of the western fixed spans are in view. The eastern fixed spans have been fully removed.

This view on March 14, 2009, shows the swing span back in the open position. The end sections of the truss have been removed from both ends of the span. Barges are in position in the main navigation channels to support the demolition. It is critical that this work be complete before the start of the river navigation season.

The western-most span of the western fixed section of the bridge has also been removed. This view is the western-most bridge pier.

A very small section of the swing span remains standing on the afternoon of March 29, 2009. The work barges have been moved to shore due to the high water levels and debris flowing down the fast moving river.

The approach road at the west end of the bridge is being used to stage equipment for the demolition project, and for parking for the construction crew.

The demolition of the swingspan was complete as of April 9, 2009.

Demolition of the fixed spans continued in April and May of 2009. Only two spans remain near the middle of the Mississippi River.

This is a close view of the western-most bridge pier, where the spans on either side of the pier have now been dismantled. The photo below is a view of the mid-river piers.