Verne V. Skallman Bridge
Mississippi River Highway Crossing
Grand Rapids, MN

Itasca County Highway 63

• Bridge ID: NBI 31509
• Location: River Mile 1182.5
• River Elevation: 1,269 Feet
• County: Itasca
• Highway: Itasca County Highway 63
• Daily Traffic Count: 5,300 (2001)
• Bridge Type: Concrete Girder
• Bridge Length: 407 Feet, 67 Foot Longest Span
• Bridge Width: 40 Feet, 2 Lanes
• Height Above Water: 11 Feet
• Date Built: 1970
The Itasca County Highway 63 bridge is another prestressed concrete girder bridge. It is a little bit older bridge for being a concrete girder structure. The key feature making its age are the metal railings. More modern bridges have higher concrete railings, and any metal railings would be decorative or for pedestrians. Like the Itasca County Highway 62 bridge just upstream, this bridge also features the tubular steel pilings for bridge piers. The tube steel pilings make for a very open and thin looking bridge, one that seems to float on the water rather than being connected to the earth.

The previous bridge at this location was a 1913 era structure. Verne Skallman was the Itasca County highway engineer for over 20 years.


Itasca County Highway 63
Itasca County Highway 63

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Photo and text by John A. Weeks III, Copyright © 2006, all rights reserved.
For further information, contact: john@johnweeks.com