The Oliver Bridge was constructed across the St. Louis River in 1916 by the Interstate Transfer Railway Company, a Wisconsin corporation, under special federal authorization from the 60th United States Congress

60th United States Congress

The Sixtieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1907 to March 4, 1909, during the last two years of...

 (Session I, Chapter 31, February 20, 1908). It connects Gary - New Duluth

Gary - New Duluth

Gary – New Duluth is a neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Although called Gary–New Duluth by most people in the area, and even identified by local traffic signs as being so named, they are two separate neighborhood communities....

, part of the City of Duluth

Duluth, Minnesota

Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...

, Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 with Oliver

Oliver, Wisconsin

Oliver is a village in Douglas County, Wisconsin, USA. The population was 358 at the 2000 census.-Transportation:Wisconsin Highway 105 serves as a main arterial route in the community...

, Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 across the St. Louis River. The bridge is 1900 feet (579 m) long and is principally of steel truss construction.

The upper deck carries the single track rail line (formerly a double line, but the 2nd line has since been removed) while a lower deck carries the road connecting Wisconsin Highway 105 to Minnesota State Highway 39

Minnesota State Highway 39

Minnesota State Highway 39 is a short highway in northeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 23 in Duluth and continues east to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line , where it becomes Wisconsin Highway 105 upon entering the village of Oliver, Wisconsin.The...

.

The upper deck was built so as to allow a streetcar line to be constructed from New Duluth to south Superior connecting the Duluth and Superior Streetcar systems. The line was never built and the systems were connected across the Twin Ports

Twin Ports

The Twin Ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin are located at the western part of Lake Superior and together are considered the largest freshwater port in the world. They are twin cities and seaports, connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence...

 Harbor.

On the Oliver side a section of the bridge was built to swing allowing passage of large vessels despite the river only being navigable for a few miles upstream of the bridge. Only one vessel is ever thought to have used this facility, a ferry excursion boat operating between Duluth and Fond du Lac (Duluth)

Fond du Lac (Duluth)

Fond du Lac is a neighborhood in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.Evergreen Memorial Highway serves as a main arterial route in the community.-History:...

. The ferry service ceased in the 1930s and the swing section has not operated since.

The road deck was originally a wooden deck. Modernization came in 2000 when both states' DOTs (WisDOT and Mn/DOT) cooperated with the Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway

Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway

The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...

 to jointly fund a reconstruction of the roadway surface, which now features a stronger steel and reinforced concrete deck. A weight restriction, which was lowered to one ton as the road deck deteriorated, was then lifted.

A pedestrian walkway also existed atop the railway deck, but fell into disrepair and is no longer usable.

The bridge is currently owned by the Canadian National Railway

Canadian National Railway

The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....

.