Rating:
5 votes
Old Sartell Bridge
Photos
Behind the trees
The bridge has a cream color, which makes it noticeable from behind the trees
Photo taken by Jason Smith in December 2010
BH Photo #191826
Description
While the Sartell Bridge may be one of only a handful of bridges of its kind left along the Mississippi, the proximity of the bridge to the paper mill located on the Stearns County side next to the river makes the structure one of the most awkwardly located bridges in Minnesota. Problems with the bridge started almost right from the time it was built in 1914 when too much traffic forced the city in 1950 to close it to trucks to prolong its useful life. 33 years later, a new bridge, about twice its length was completed and open to traffic prompting the city to once again decide on the future of the truss bridge. Because of the fact that it was considered historic by the state, the city council decided to convert the bridge into pedestrian use in 1984. However, it did not go down well with the paper mill due to security reasons and as a result, the bridge was closed off to all traffic and now utility lines run across the bridge. Whether the bridge will again be used for pedestrian use remains to be seen...Facts
- Overview
- Camelback through truss bridge over Mississippi River on Pipeline
- Location
- Sartell, Benton County, Minnesota, and Stearns County, Minnesota
- Status
- Closed to all traffic; Future unknown as paper mill is being demolished to make way for development
- History
- Built in 1914; Closed to truck traffic in 1950; Made obsolete by a new bridge built 700 feet downstream in 1983; Converted to pedestrian traffic in 1984; Later closed to all traffic- now utility lines cross it.
- Builder
- - Minneapolis Steel & Machinery Co. of Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Design
- Camelback Pratt through truss bridge with A-frame portal bracing
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 135.0 ft.
Total length: 587.0 ft.
Deck width: 28.0 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places
- Also called
- Sartell City Bridge
Sartell Bridge (1914 Structure) - Approximate latitude, longitude
- +45.61801, -94.20315 (decimal degrees)
45°37'05" N, 94°12'11" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 15/406198/5052311 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Saint Cloud
- Inventory number
- BH 47582 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- February 3, 2014: New Street View added by Luke Harden
- January 27, 2014: Updated by Jason Smith: Added neighboring county. Future questionable as paper mill is being demolished for development
- November 22, 2013: New Street View added by J.P.
- August 6, 2012: Updated by Fmiser: changed "700 miles" to !700 feet" downstream.
- January 8, 2011: Added by Jason Smith
Sources
- Jason Smith - flensburg [dot] bridgehunter [dot] av [at] googlemail [dot] com
- Fmiser - fmiser [at] gmail [dot] com
- J.P. - wildcatjon2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
- Luke
Comments
Sartell Bridge (1914 structure)
Hmmmmmm.....
I'm thinking this bridge was made obsolete by the new bridge 700 feet downstream. The bridge at Chester Illinois, ~700 miles away, is nice, but there are certainly acceptible crossings between there and Sartell. :-)
Sartell Bridge (1914 structure)
The fate of this bridge will again come into question. The paper mill was heavily damaged in an explosion and will not reopen so this bridge might be rehabbed or torn down in the next few years.
© Copyright 2002-17, James Baughn and contributors.
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/mn/benton/bh47582/
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/mn/benton/bh47582/
Good news: The bridge will be spared. It will not be demolished along with what's left of the Verso Paper Company, according to the city developer. Yet its future remains clouded. More here:
http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2014/02/03/sartell-bri...