The Hennepin Avenue Bridge is a suspension bridge that carries Hennepin County State Aid Highway 52, Hennepin Avenue, across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, at Nicollet Island. Officially, it is the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge, in honor of the 17th-century explorer Louis Hennepin, the first European to see the Saint Anthony Falls. It is the fourth bridge on the site, having been preceded by the first bridge to cross the Mississippi and two other overpasses.

History

Background

The bridge crosses from the west bank of the Mississippi River to Nicollet Island. Another smaller bridge crosses from the island to the east bank. Three previous bridges had been on the location, two of which were 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, was the first permanent span across the Mississippi. Other bridges were completed in 1876 and 1888.

Design

The bridge was designed by Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergerndoff. The bridge could have been shorter, but twenty feet were added to the towers to avoid a squat look. Stairs and a ramp on the eastern bank connect pedestrians to West River Parkway below.

Construction

thumb|left|The bridge showing West River Parkway underneath

Some of steel cable, more than , were ordered from Bethlehem Steel Corp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Johnson Bros. Corp. of Litchfield, Minnesota did the work on the suspension cables.

On July 31, 1989, a fire underneath the bridge blamed on vagrants caused an estimated $80,000 in damage to construction equipment. The fire was underneath a yet-undemolished part of the old bridge and did not damage the new construction. One lane of the new bridge was opened in August 1989. Officials banned traffic-closing events and large crowds from the bridge in December 1990, finding that large crowds combined with dancing could cause unacceptable levels of stress.

All lanes of traffic on the bridge were opened for traffic on August 23, 1990.

Renovation

In 2023, Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergerndoff (the original builders of the bridge) were selected by Hennepin County to help improve the safety and service life of the bridge, as well as modify the bridge deck to facilitate easier public transit, bicycle and pedestrian use.

Archeological site

Each of the three previous bridges had historic value to the City of Minneapolis. Excavations in 1983, 1985, and 1987, and construction work during the building of the current bridge in 1988 and 1989, found substantial portions of the first and second bridges. Foundations of the first bridge, tunnels used for the construction of both, and various anchors and other elements of each bridge were discovered. The archeological site was included as an official part of the St. Anthony Falls Historic District. Various pilings and artifacts exist at First Bridge Park next to the bridge.

The bridge appears in the 1992 film Crossing the Bridge. The bridge depicts a fictional border crossing between the United States and Canada in Detroit, Michigan. A review panned the lack of continuity between the far shots showing a real bridge near Detroit and the close-ups of the very different Hennepin Avenue Bridge.

See also

  • Grain Belt Beer Sign
  • List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

References

  • of previous bridge