The Intercity Bridge, more commonly known as the Ford Parkway Bridge (and sometimes referred to as the 46th Street Bridge), is a reinforced concrete arch bridge

Arch bridge

An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either side...

 that spans the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 between Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

 and St. Paul, Minnesota. It connects 46th Street in Minneapolis with Ford Parkway in Saint Paul. The bridge is historically significant as one of the largest reinforced concrete bridges ever built in Minnesota. It was built in 1925-1927 by James O. Heyworth, Inc. and was designed by Martin Sigvart Grytbak

Martin Sigvart Grytbak

Martin Sigvart Grytbak was one of four innovative and influential Norwegian-American engineers that were involved in the design of the great bridges of the Twin Cities. The others are Kristoffer Olsen Oustad, Andreas W...

. The Intercity Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1989. It is notable as one of the monumental concrete rib-arch bridges spanning the high river bluffs along the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

, along with the Franklin Avenue Bridge

Franklin Avenue Bridge

The Franklin Avenue Bridge, officially the F.W. Cappelen Memorial Bridge, carries Franklin Avenue over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was designed by Frederick William Cappelen, assisted by Kristoffer Olsen Oustad, both of whom were among four important Norwegian-American...

, the Third Avenue Bridge

Third Avenue Bridge (Minneapolis)

The Third Avenue Bridge is a landmark structure of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, originally known as the St. Anthony Falls Bridge. It carries road traffic across the Mississippi River and right over the upper fringes of Saint Anthony Falls...

, the 10th Avenue Bridge, and the Robert Street Bridge

Robert Street Bridge

The Robert Street Bridge is a reinforced concrete multiple-arch bridge that spans the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. The bridge is notable for its complex design that was required to accommodate river traffic, the St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge crossing...

.

The bridge was originally built to service Ford's Twin Cities Assembly Plant

Twin Cities Assembly Plant

Ford Motor Company's Twin Cities Assembly Plant is located next to the Mississippi River in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest Ford plant still in operation, having been first built in 1924. Today, the plant manufactures the Ford Ranger pickup...

, so Minneapolis residents could commute to the Ford plant. The Ford plant, along with Lock and Dam Number 1, was expected to make the Highland Park area of St. Paul extremely desirable. As part of the planned development, St. Paul expanded the original street, Edsel Avenue, and renamed it Ford Parkway. The bridge project was designed by a committee of politicians and engineers from both Minneapolis and St. Paul and chaired by Charles M. Babcock, Minnesota's first commissioner of highways. The development that was expected as a result of the bridge did not materialize, however, because of the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 and growth in Minneapolis neighborhoods on the opposite side of the bridge. It was not until after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

that the desired growth in the Highland Park area resulted from the bridge.

In 1972-1973, the bridge was redecked and widened, but this did not detract from the historic significance of the bridge. In 2004, the bridge was rebuilt from the arches up. The rebuilding project was given an award by the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers in 2006.