Hennepin Avenue Bridge

44°59′07″N 93°15′50″W / 44.98528°N 93.26389°W / 44.98528; -93.26389Carries6 lanes of Hennepin Avenue (CSAH 52)CrossesMississippi RiverLocaleMinneapolis, MinnesotaMaintained byHennepin CountyID number27636CharacteristicsDesignSuspension bridgeTotal length316 metres (1,037 ft)Width41 metres (135 ft)Longest span190 metres (620 ft)Clearance below11 metres (36 ft)HistoryDesignerHNTB CorporationOpened1990Location

The Hennepin Avenue Bridge is the structure that carries Hennepin County State Aid Highway 52, Hennepin Avenue, across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at Nicollet Island. Officially, it is the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge, in honor of the 17th-century explorer Louis Hennepin, who was the first European to see the Saint Anthony Falls, a short distance downriver. Two of the three previous structures have been suspension bridges, while a third—which existed nearly a century—was composed of steel arch spans. The original crossing, which opened as a toll bridge on January 23, 1855, is believed to have been the first permanent span across the Mississippi at any point. Other bridges were completed in 1876, 1891, and most recently 1990. Today, the bridge's main span is 190 metres (620 ft) in length.

• 
  The original structure circa 1865
• 
  Facing Northeast Minneapolis
• 
  Bridge with Grain Belt sign (inset)
• 
  Facing the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Minnesota
• List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

References

• Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4.
• "Father Louis Hennepin Bridge". Highways, Byways, and Bridge Photography. johnweeks.com. Retrieved November 12, 2012.

External links