Bridge is located in the Bemidji area just outside of the city limits.
Like the bridge just up river, this is a single span bridge that crosses
the mighty river in a single bound. Unlike the bridge just up river,
this bridge is dressed up a little with horizontal lines on the outside
of the bridge railings and vertical lines on the abutments. Like many
of the headwaters area bridges, this one features a solar powered river
monitor placed by the State of Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, who
is watching the river for oxygen levels and heavy metals such as mercury.
According to the Mary Costello book (Climbing The Mississippi River Bridge
By Bridge, Volume 2), the original bridge at this location was the 1926
Ritchie Highway Bridge, which was replaced by a pre-fabricated 1956
precast prestressed concrete bridge. The 1956 bridge was nearly a
carbon copy of the Beltrami County Highway 5 bridge over the Mississippi
River.