This Minnesota River crossing is in a rural area just north of the city of Jordan, Minnesota. Jordan is located on US-169, which roughly parallels the Minnesota River from Bloomington to Mankato. This bridge, built in 2002, is typical of the cookie-cutter concrete girder bridges that are so common over the past 20 years. This bridge is the most generic of that style, with no decorative features to speak of. Given the rural location and low traffic count, function and cost are far more important than style.

You may note a large white box on the side of the bridge. This is a shared river monitoring station. Different agencies can install equipment in these boxes to monitor different aspects of the river. Typical uses are for the USGS to monitor river levels and water flow, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to monitor mercury and oxygen levels in the water.