The Bridge of Hope is a concrete
girder bridge
A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box.
The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge d ...
that spans the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
between
Sartell, Minnesota
Sartell is a city in Benton and Stearns Counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota that straddles the Mississippi River. It is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 19,351 at the 2020 census, making it St. Cl ...
and
Sauk Rapids, Minnesota
Sauk Rapids ( ) is a city in Benton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,862 at the 2020 census and is 13,896 according to 2021 census estimates, about a third of Benton County's population. It is on a set of rapids on the M ...
. The bridge was completed eight months early, aided by favorable weather and trouble-free construction. It was built in 1995 and was designed by
Minnesota Department of Transportation
The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT, ) oversees Transportation in Minnesota, transportation by all modes including land, water, air, rail, walking and bicycling in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The Cabinet (government), cabinet-lev ...
and the Jim Hill Group.
The bridge is named in honor of
Jacob Wetterling, a boy who was abducted from
St. Joseph, Minnesota in 1989 (his remains were discovered in 2016). The name was chosen by a group of high school students who wanted to memorialize Wetterling and other missing children.
See also
*
List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River
This is a list of all current and notable former bridges or other crossings of the Upper Mississippi River, Upper Mississippi River which begins at the Mississippi River's source and extends to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinoi ...
References
*
*
Road bridges in Minnesota
Bridges over the Mississippi River
Bridges completed in 1995
1995 establishments in Minnesota
Concrete bridges in the United States
Girder bridges in the United States
Buildings and structures in Benton County, Minnesota
{{Minnesota-bridge-struct-stub