The County 6 - County 6 bridge is a very typical steel girder bridge with a
concrete deck and the older style guardrails. The distinguishing features of
this bridge are the brown color of the girders, the T-shaped piers, and the
all-concrete guardrails. This bridge is one of several similar bridges in
rural Renville County that crosses the Minnesota River using county roads.
The common theme is that these bridges were all built about the same time,
they are all about the same dimensions, and they are all in good shape today.
The bridge has one rather unusual feature, and that is a metal plate
with big overlapping fingers that is located just above the joints between
the bridge and the abutment. While this arrangement makes for a smooth
ride, one would not expect it to hold up in places where they use snowplows.
The photo above is a view looking north down the length of the bridge deck
towards Renville County from the center of Redwood County highway 6. The
photo below is a view looking north across the Minnesota River along the
upriver west face of the structure.
These two photos are views of the expansion joint located on the south end
of the bridge deck. Expansion joints are very common on bridges. This metal
style joint is commonly used on larger bridges. This style is not commonly
used in Minnesota due to issues with snowplow blades. Rather, a rubber
joint is more commonly used in this area.
These two photos are views of the remains of the old bridge at this location.
Both views are looking west from the deck of the 1975 structure. The photo
above is the south bridge abutment. The abutment appears to be in excellent
shape, and still has parts of the bridge railing attached. The photo below
is the north side of the old river crossing. Pavement leading to the bridge
still exists, and the bridge abutment appears be visible through the brush.