Cement Bridge
Minnesota River Highway Crossing
Correll, MN

Cement Bridge

• Structure ID: NBI: 37537.
• Location: River Mile 307.2.
• River Elevation: 938 Feet.
• Highway: Township Road 156.
• Daily Traffic Count: 39 (1973).
• Bridge Type: Concrete Girder, Concrete Deck.
• Length: 115 Feet.
• Width: 28 Feet, 2 Lanes.
• Navigation Channel Width: Non-Navigable.
• Height Above Water: 6 Feet.
• Date Built: 1991.
Township Road #156 is a small gravel road that crosses Marsh Lake between MN-7 and Lac Qui Parle CSAH-38. Highway signs mark it as a path between the tiny cities of Correll and Louisburg. There was likely a more direct route between these two cities that was flooded out in 1938 when the pool behind Marsh Lake Dam started to fill. There also was likely and older bridge in place of the Cement Bridge, likely an older steel truss bridge.

The Cement Bridge dates back to 1991. I don't know why it is called the Cement Bridge, but I suspect that it was named the Cement bridge due to it being made out of cement, whereas the previous bridge was iron or steel. The bridge is made of concrete girders and a concrete deck. With light traffic and occasional maintenance, the bridge should last a century or more.

Despite the low traffic, this is a popular fishing spot. There is a parking area on the south east corner of the bridge for day-use activities.


Cement Bridge
The photo above is a view of the deck of the bridge. Here, we see the walkway on the downstream side of the bridge. This is just a bit humorous given that with an average of 40 cars per day, one could lay down and take a 20 minute nap in the middle of the road and have almost zero chance of being run over. Still, it is good to encourage safe pedestrian access to important river crossings.

The photo below is the bridge builder's plate.


Cement Bridge
Cement Bridge
These two photos are views of the side of the bridge. With the high water at the time these photos were taken, the water is nearly up to the level of the bridge girders. The water would, however, flood the road before flooding the bridge.

Cement Bridge
Cement Bridge
These two photos are views of the causeway towards the north end of the river crossing. The photo above is a view that includes Marsh Lake. The photo below shows where water is right up to the road level, and starting to creep onto the road itself.

Cement Bridge
Cement Bridge
The photo above is a view of one of several sets of culverts that allow water from Marsh Lake to cross under the highway. In this photo, we can see that the culverts are almost totally submerged. One can also see that the joints in the concrete between culvert sections are also leaking. That shows how much water pressure is inside these culverts.

The photo below was taken on the upstream side of the culverts. A whirlpool has developed above the entrance to one of the culverts.


Cement Bridge

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Photo and text by John A. Weeks III, Copyright © 2008, all rights reserved.
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