Hennepin Avenue Bridge

The Hennepin Avenue Bridge is the structure that carries Hennepin County State Aid Highway 52, Hennepin Avenue, across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at Nicollet Island. Officially, it is the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge, in honor of the 17th-century explorer Louis Hennepin, who was the first European to see the Saint Anthony Falls, a short distance downriver. Two of the three previous structures have been suspension bridges, while a third—which existed nearly a century—was composed of steel arch spans. The original crossing, which opened as a toll bridge on January 23, 1855, is believed to have been the first permanent span across the Mississippi at any point. Other bridges were completed in 1876, 1891, and most recently 1990. Today, the bridge's main span is 190 metres (620 ft) in length.

• 
  The original structure circa 1865
• 
  Facing Northeast Minneapolis
• 
  Bridge with Grain Belt sign (inset)
• 
  Facing the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

Hennepin Avenue Bridge
Hennepin Avenue Bridge in 2005.
Coordinates	44°59′07″N 93°15′50″W
Carries	6 lanes of Hennepin Avenue (CSAH 52)
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Maintained by	Hennepin County
ID number	27636
Characteristics
Design	Suspension bridge
Total length	316 metres (1,037 ft)
Width	41 metres (135 ft)
Longest span	190 metres (620 ft)
Clearance below	11 metres (36 ft)
History
Designer	HNTB Corporation
Opened	1990
Location

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Minnesota
• List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

References

• Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4.
• "Father Louis Hennepin Bridge". Highways, Byways, and Bridge Photography. johnweeks.com. Retrieved November 12, 2012.

External links

• Father Louis Hennepin Bridge at Structurae
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MN-18, "Steel Arch Bridge, Hennepin Avenue spanning west channel of Mississippi River, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN", 43 photos, 34 data pages, 3 photo caption pages of previous bridge