While the US-10 bridge is the first bridge to be built at its location, the MN-27 has a very long history. According to Mary Costello (Climbing The Mississippi River Bridge By Bridge, Volume 2), the first bridge in the area was built in 1857 on top of the Little Falls Dam. That dam failed in the spring flood in 1859. The west span of that bridge remained in operation for 8 more years until it too was destoryed. A ferry crossed the river until 1884, when an iron truss bridge was completed. That bridge was in place until 1902, when it was moved upstream to the tiny town of Fort Ripley. It was in used at that location until 1947 until it was destoryed by a flood. The 1902 span was built out of wood and steel served until 1940, when it was removed to make way for the construction of the current bridge. A temporary trestle was in place for about a year between when the 1902 span was removed, and the 1941 bridge was finished.
The poeple of Little Falls are once again looking to build a new bridge over the Mississippi RIver. The current bridge is often backed up by heavy rail traffic on the west end of the bridge. A proposed replacement bridge would cross over the railroad tracks, eliminating the grade level crossing.
