The MN-232 bridge at Palisade is another of the 13 concrete girder road bridges located in the Brainerd to Grand Rapids stretch of the mighty Mississippi. This example features two concrete piers. The piers have a rounded and curving shape, which gives the bridge just a little character.

This bridge replaced a 1927 bridge that was built in Grand Rapids and moved to this site in 1952. That bridge was a three span pony truss bridge.

Palisade is located in a 50 mile section of the river that is more or less uninhabited. The Great River Road is unpaved in this area. Any economic activity that was ever in this region was related to the timber industry of a century ago. Palisade is host to a large RV park. If you want to get away from it all, this would be a great place to go. At least in summer.

You may have noticed the brown color of the river. The brown is caused by manganese, a metal that occurs naturally in this area. This is as far north as I have found the manganese. It can be found as far south as MN-371, where he Crow Wing River merges into the Mississippi, diluting the water enough where it returns to its blue color.

The photo above is a view of the bridge looking upriver from the west river bank.

The photo above is a view looking east down the length of the traffic deck. The photo below is looking east along the south face of the bridge from the southwest corner of the structure. The brown water color is very apparent in this photo.

The photo above is looking north from the east end of the bridge, a view that includes the bridge plate. The photo below is looking upstream towards the Palisade Bridge from the nearby Soo Line Railroad Bridge, which has been converted into a rails-to-trails bridge.

These two photos are early autumn views of the south face of the highway MN-232 bridge over the Mississippi River at Palisade as seen from the west shore of the river. The photo above is an overview shot, while the photo below is a closer view of the main river span.