I-35W Minnesota River bridge
Encyclopedia
The I-35W Minnesota River Bridge is a six-lane steel girder bridge that carries Interstate 35W
across the Minnesota River
between Bloomington, Minnesota
and Burnsville, Minnesota
. It was built in 1960 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation
.
ordered a soil study at the north end of the Interstate Hwy. 35W bridge over the Minnesota River to see if the two previously barricaded lanes could be opened to traffic. There was concern the $15 million investment to build the expanded approaches would be lost since, according to a Department of Transportation March 1989 statement, "the current bridge will be replaced eventually by a higher bridge."
Interstate 35W (Minnesota)
Interstate 35W , is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Minnesota, passing through downtown Minneapolis. It is one of two through routes for Interstate 35 through the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the other being Interstate 35E through downtown Saint Paul...
across the Minnesota River
Minnesota River
The Minnesota River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 332 miles long, in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It drains a watershed of nearly , in Minnesota and about in South Dakota and Iowa....
between Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington, Minnesota
Bloomington is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota in Hennepin County. Located on the north bank of the Minnesota River above its confluence with the Mississippi River, Bloomington lies at the heart of the southern...
and Burnsville, Minnesota
Burnsville, Minnesota
Burnsville is a city south of downtown Minneapolis in Dakota County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River...
. It was built in 1960 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation
Minnesota Department of Transportation
The Minnesota Department of Transportation oversees transportation by land, water, and air in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The cabinet-level agency is responsible for maintaining the state's trunk highway system The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT, pronounced "min-dot") oversees...
.
History
In March 1989, there was discussion of easing traffic congestion by opening two previously closed lanes leading to the bridge. William Crawford, the district engineer in charge of the project, believed that there would be subsoil problems at the north end of the bridge if the lanes were opened. In response, then Governor Rudy PerpichRudy Perpich
Rudolph George "Rudy" Perpich, Sr. was an American politician and the longest-serving governor of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the 34th and 36th Governor of Minnesota from December 29, 1976 to January 4, 1979, and from January 3, 1983, to January 7, 1991...
ordered a soil study at the north end of the Interstate Hwy. 35W bridge over the Minnesota River to see if the two previously barricaded lanes could be opened to traffic. There was concern the $15 million investment to build the expanded approaches would be lost since, according to a Department of Transportation March 1989 statement, "the current bridge will be replaced eventually by a higher bridge."