Father Louis Hennepin Bridge - Minneapolis, MN
N 44° 59.116 W 093° 15.830
15T E 479200 N 4981347
The Father Louis Hennepin Bridge was built in 1990. It is located at the site of what is believed to have been the first permanent bridge across the Mississippi River.
Waymark Code: WM5XWH
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 02/26/2009
Views: 10
From the John A. Weeks web site (
visit link) :
"Bridge fans consider the area around the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge to be hallowed ground. This location was the site of what is believed to be the first permanent bridge over the Mississippi River. What was once the most important bridge over the Mississippi River is now the most elegant and stylish bridge to span the mighty river.
The first bridge was built in 1854 and was opened on January 23, 1855. According to the state historical society, it was proclaimed as a link between the Atlantic and Pacific, and it was called the "Gateway to the West". The bridge was 620 feet long and 17 feet wide. It was a pure suspension bridge with tall wooden towers, wire suspension cables, a stone base, and cast iron anchors. The bridge was built by private investors and was operated as a toll bridge. The historical society further reports that the bridge suffered from maintenance problems and quickly deteriorated. Hennepin County purchased the bridge in 1869 to prepare for construction of a new bridge.
The second bridge was another pure suspension bridge. It was 675 feet long and 32 feet wide, with towers that were slightly taller than the first bridge. Due to the importance of the river crossing, the second bridge was built parallel to the first bridge, and the first bridge was not removed until after the second bridge opened in 1876. Despite the second bridge being built to last longer than the first bridge, it also suffered from maintenance problems, and it was removed in 1891.
Construction of the third bridge started in 1888 and was completed in 1891. This bridge was a steel arch bridge that was designed in-house by Minneapolis bridge engineers which included Frederick Cappelen, who designed many of the large concrete arch bridges over the river in the early 1900s. The third bridge was 1160 feet long, spanning the river in two 580 foot arches. The bridge had a 56 foot wide wooden roadway and two 12-foot wide sidewalks. The historical society reports that the wooden deck was replaced with a steel grid in 1954.
By the 1980s, various members of city government believed that the third bridge had outlived its usefulness. A bridge inspection revealed that the bridge was in bad shape. Some engineers felt that the bridge could not economically be repaired. Other engineers stated that the bridge could be fixed and could support modern traffic loads. Preservationists wanted to save the nearly century old bridge. At one point in the process, it was determined that the river crossing had to be a minimum of 6 lanes. That doomed the third bridge. It was removed to make way for the fourth bridge.
The remaining debate on the new Father Louis Hennepin Bridge was the style of the bridge. Some wanted an economical structure much like the Plymouth Avenue bridge. While that would serve the purpose, city hall wanted a signature structure that would reflect the history of the site and the importance of the river crossing. The design that emerged was a pair of parallel suspension bridges supported by 150 foot tall towers. While this certainly would be an amazing bridge, it came with an amazing price tag that was more than three times the cost of a conventional structure. Interestingly enough, the resulting bridge is the shortest pure suspension bridge to carry highway traffic built in modern times."