This generic looking prestressed concrete girder bridge looks brand
new, like it just opened a few days earlier. As it turns out, it was
built in 2000, so it was 6 years old when these photos were taken. The
crews in Bemidji Township must really take good care of their roads and
bridges to have them looking this spiffy. The downside is that not that
many people will likely notice. First, very few people use this bridge
despite its semi-urban location. Second, there are no parking signs
posted for nearly a mile on each side of the bridge, making any effort
to view the structure a hit and run type of operation.
This bridge replaced a 1915 era single lane bridge that consisted of two
smaller truss sections planed end to end. The new bridge is located only
125 feet downstream from the heavily traveled US-2 and US-71 freeway bridges
over the Mississippi River.
The photo above is a view from the northwest corner of the bridge. The
photo below is the bridge plate. The photo at the top of the page is a
view looking south down the length of the bridge from traffic level.