The Bridges And Structures
Of The Mississippi River Headwaters

This is the fourth and final installment of “The Bridges And Structures Of The Mississippi River,” focusing on the headwaters region of the great river starting just north of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, and heading north to the source of the river at Lake Itasca. On our journey, we will break the river into three sections. The Lake Itasca to Ball Club region is an area where the river is hardly more than a trickle, and the main channel is often hard to find in vast wetland and lake areas. The Cohasset to Brainerd area is noted as an area where the river has low banks and a nearly infinite number of curves. The Little Falls to Monticello area is where the Mississippi River practices for the big time with larger flows, wider river crossings, and deeper river banks.

One does not visit the headwaters area just to see bridges. Rather, the bridges are an excuse to draw a person into areas where they might otherwise never venture. Rather than being the destination, the bridges are a reason to visit some of the little known areas where the river grows up from being a small stream to being one of the greatest rivers on our small blue planet.