Northern Pacific Bridge #9 is a deck

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

that spans the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

in Minneapolis, Minnesota, between the Seven Corners area and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

campus. It was built in 1924 and was designed by Frederick W. Cappelen. Railroad use of the bridge ended in 1981, and in 1999 the bridge was opened to bicycles and pedestrians. It replaced the former Northern Pacific "A Line" bridge.

History

The Northern Pacific Railway "A line" tracks once formed the southern boundary of the

East Bank campus. but as the University grew, the campus expanded southward around the railroad. The railroad noise, congestion, and pollution caused problems around the campus. In response, the Northern Pacific Railway built a new bridge that angled north of the campus, connecting with an existing Great Northern railroad line going through

Dinkytown Dinkytown is a commercial district within the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Centered at 14th Avenue Southeast and 4th Street Southeast, the district contains several city blocks occupied by various small businesses, restau ...

. This enabled campus expansion and allowed the Northrop Mall to be built. Today, the bridge is open to bicyclists and pedestrians. The bridge is accessible from the west side, where there is a connection to the West River Parkway trail, and on the east side via a service road up to East River Parkway near the Mineral Resources Research Center. Historic markers on either side of the bridge describe how the bridge was built and its importance to the area. The City of Minneapolis built a connection from the bridge to the U of M bicycle and pedestrian trail through Dinkytown in 2013. As part of the construction of the new St. Anthony Falls (35W) Bridge approach, a culvert was installed to allow the non-motorized trail to continue west into downtown Minneapolis; this was completed in July 2014. On the south side of the deck, the words "North Coast Lim" can be seen. It formerly read

North Coast Limited The ''North Coast Limited'' was a named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It started on April 29, 1900, and continued as a Burlington Northern Railroad train after t ...

to advertise the Chicago to Seattle passenger train of that name.

References

* * {{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Northern Pacific Bridge Number 9 , bridge signs = , upstream =

10th Avenue Bridge The 10th Avenue Bridge crosses the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota and also in proximity to the University of Minnesota. The bridge historically was called the Cedar Avenue Bridge from days prior to the construction of the ...

, upstream signs = , downstream = Washington Avenue Bridge , downstream signs = Truss bridges in the United States Bridges in Minneapolis Bridges over the Mississippi River Northern Pacific Railway Railroad bridges in Minnesota Bridges completed in 1924 Former railway bridges in the United States Pedestrian bridges in Minnesota Cyclist bridges in the United States Shared-use paths in Minneapolis Mississippi Gorge

History

See also

References