Kern Bridge or Yaeger Bridge crossed the

Le Sueur River The Le Sueur River (''lay-SEWER'') is a tributary of the Blue Earth River, long, in southern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Blue Earth and Minnesota Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of . It ...

in Blue Earth County in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state of

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. It was built in 1873 using a bowstring through truss design by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company. It was long and carried a local road. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1980 as Minnesota's only bowstring arch truss bridge and oldest road bridge still in use. However, it was closed to vehicle traffic in 1991. In 2019, the

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 ...

(MnDOT) announced plans to dismantle the bridge and store it for eventual reuse elsewhere. According to the department's website, it has been removed and is available for suitable relocation. Less than downstream from its original site, the historic 1873 Kern Bridge has found a new home connecting the Land of Memories Park to Sibley Park in Mankato. Mankato will receive federal funding (80 percent of cost) to relocate and rehabilitate the bridge. According to MnDOT, "Although Mankato is urban, the future Kern Bridge setting is wooded, crosses a large river, and is a similar context to the original bridge site." Pedestrians and bicyclists will access the bridge through the existing trail system. "The bridge will be seen from the north via a scenic overlook and from the south via U.S. Highway 169. Though the proposal included use of extensive approach spans to meet the river’s width," MnDOT says, "the choice of a streamlined girder will allow the arch to be visually prominent, an important consideration in re-listing the bridge" on the National Register of Historic Places.

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* * Bowstring truss bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1873 Historic American Engineering Record in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Blue Earth County, Minnesota Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Transportation in Blue Earth County, Minnesota Wrought iron bridges in the United States 1873 establishments in Minnesota Le Sueur River Wrought Iron Bridge Company {{Minnesota-bridge-struct-stub

See also

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