Eisenhower Bridge

Even as old as the Eisenhower Bridge is, it still looks better than the UGLY new bridge. The new bridge will be an embarassment to the people who live around here, and who must look at it for the next 60 years or so. PLEASE ... Do NOT build this EYESORE! R-E-D-E-S-I-G-N !!

In Minnesota and Wisconsin, if you screw with the bull, you get the HORNS! Indeed, it appears that someone thinks the proposed ugly replacement bridge would benefit by having horns added at the pier points...

There is NO REASON for replacement rather than rehab and retrofit of the current structure. MnDoT's sole arguement orignally was that it needed replacement because of projected traffic increases. Then, when more accurate projections showed virtually flat traffic growth, suddenly the inspection reports changed overnight. Corruption at the highest levels in order to push bigger more expensive contracts to large out-of-state corporations like Figg and Flatiron.

Not that it makes any difference now since MnDoT clearly didn't care what the public thought and were intent on building a big flat slab across the skyline, I am still going to share what I thought could have been a reasonable compromise.

I took the liberty of carving up some of their very preliminary drawings to show how for less than 1% of the total project's cost, they could dress up one of their cookie-cutter designs to at least recognize the history of the 100+ year old crossing.

By introducing simple structural panels cut to represent the delicate latticework from the 1930's High Bridge and adding full lane spanning lighting structures with the same faux latticework, it creates a bridge that looks like it evolved rather than being run over by a steamroller. The blue color and solid arches with both vertical and diagonal cabling would have paid homage to the Eisenhower bridge which served Red Wing for almost 60 years.

BTW, how can a 60 year old piece of infrastructure the size of the IKE, named after a president, crossing America's longest river, at a location spanned by truss structures for close to 100 years, in the most historic town in Minnesota NOT be considered historic?

Note: I don't own the photo of the old bridge, I believe it belongs to the Goodhue County Historical Society

There is nothing wrong with this bridge, so MNDOT is going to demolish this two lane bridge and replace it with... yes another two lane bridge!