Reinforced-Concrete Highway Bridges in Minnesota MPS is a Multiple Property Submission of bridges 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 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...

. The submission includes 20 individual bridges. It also includes the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Grade Separation

Midtown Greenway

The Midtown Greenway is a rail trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is considered under segregated cycle facilities.Used both recreationally and for commuting, the partially below-grade Greenway runs east-west about one block north of Lake Street...

, which comprises 30 bridges built over the Milwaukee Road tracks one block north of Lake Street

Lake Street (Minneapolis)

Lake Street is a major east-west thoroughfare in Minneapolis, Minnesota which is located between 29th and 31st Streets in south Minneapolis. It was named such because it runs through the Chain of Lakes area on the west side of town and passes over a small channel linking Lake Calhoun and Lake of...

 in Minneapolis. The submission traces the historical context of reinforced concrete bridge building in Minnesota and cites examples of early and historic bridges.

The submission establishes criteria for bridges to be listed on the National Register. The National Register contains four primary criteria:

• A. Properties significant to the broad patterns of American history. This Multiple Property Submission selects bridges that are significantly relevant to a region's development and its transportation system. The bridges in the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Grade Separation are listed in this category because while its bridges are not significant engineering achievements, they provided relief to citizens in south Minneapolis who had to deal with train traffic.
• B. Properties associated with a significant person in America's past. However, bridges significant in conjunction with their architect are to be listed under criterion C. It is possible, although unlikely, that a particular bridge may be associated with a significant person other than its designer, such as a politician or city official who advocated for its construction.
• C. Properties significant for their design and construction methods. The Minnesota Historical Society
  Minnesota Historical Society
  The Minnesota Historical Society is a private, non-profit educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the territorial legislature in 1849, almost a decade before statehood. The Society is named in the Minnesota...
  
  , in preparing this MPS, decided to select bridges with important qualities. For example, a bridge that is the oldest of its type, the last surviving member of its type, having the longest span of its type, or associated with a prominent major architect, will be selected as part of this MPS.
• D. Properties with information potential likely to yield information pertinent to history or prehistory. This is not applicable to reinforced-concrete bridges in Minnesota.

The MPS also documents several eras that were important in reinforced-concrete bridge construction:

• Early experimental designs from the 1890s through 1911
• Early standardized designs promoted by the Minnesota Highway Commission from 1912 through 1921
• A period of Minnesota Highway Department, trunk highway, and major urban bridge building from 1921 through 1945

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...

 and the Mendota Bridge are listed in the MPS as examples of monumental concrete arch bridge construction, but these bridges were listed on the National Register before the MPS was submitted.

	Landmark name	Image	Date listed	Location	City or Town	Summary
1	Bridge No. 3355-Kathio Township			US-169 over Whitefish Cr. 46°12′56"N 93°47′33"W	Kathio Township
2	Bridge No. 3589-Silver Creek Township			US-61 over Stewart R. 47°2′59"N 91°37′50"W	Silver Creek Township Silver Creek Township, Lake County, Minnesota Silver Creek Township is a township in Lake County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 1,178 at the 2000 census.Minnesota State Highway 61 serves as a main arterial route in the township.-Geography:...
3	Bridge No. 5083-Marshall Bridge No. 5083-Marshall The MN 19 over Redwood River in Marshall, Minnesota was built 1931 and is one of two bridges on the historic register in the city. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998. Bridge No. 5083 was completed at a cost of $23,277 in October 1931. This bridge is between a...			MN 19 over Redwood R. 44°26′58"N 95°47′6"W	Marshall
4	Bridge No. 5151-Marshall Bridge No. 5151-Marshall The MN 19 over Redwood River in Marshall, Minnesota was built 1931. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998....			MN 19 over Redwood R. 44°26′35"N 95°47′58"W	Marshall
5	Bridge No. 8096			MN 19 over Spring Cr. 44°27′51"N 93°9′13"W	Northfield
6	Bridge No. L-2162			Co. Rd. 51 over Split Rock Creek 43°46′46"N 96°25′54"W	Jasper
7	Bridge No. L-2315			Twp. Rd. 89 over Rock River 43°33′21"N 96°9′9"W	Luverne
8	Bridge No. L-2316			Twp. Rd. 89 over Rock River 43°33′31"N 96°9′9"W	Luverne
9	Bridge No. L-4646			Sixth St. over Spring Brook 43°36′55"N 96°21′34"W	Beaver Creek
10	Bridges No. L-5853 and 92247 Bridges No. L-5853 and 92247 Bridges No. L-5853 and 92247 are two side-by side bridges in Saint Paul, Minnesota. They were built in 1904 over the Como-Harriet streetcar line, connecting the nearby Twin City Rapid Transit Company station to the line running west to Minneapolis; Bridge No. 92247 carries traffic on Lexington...			Lexington Ave. in Como Park 44°58′42"N 93°8′47"W	St. Paul	Early reinforced-concrete bridges built using the Melan system Josef Melan Josef Melan was an Austrian engineer. He is regarded as one of the most important pioneers of reinforced concrete bridge-building at the end of the 19th century. Josef Melan is credited as the inventor of the Melan System, a method for the construction of reinforced bridges...  for reinforcement
11	Broadway Bridge			MN 99 over Minnesota River, Oshawa Twp. 44°19′29"N 93°57′10"W	Saint Peter
12	Cedar Avenue Bridge			Tenth Ave. over Mississippi River 44°58′31"N 93°14′45"W	Minneapolis
13	Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad Grade Separation Midtown Greenway The Midtown Greenway is a rail trail in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is considered under segregated cycle facilities.Used both recreationally and for commuting, the partially below-grade Greenway runs east-west about one block north of Lake Street...			Parallel to 29th St. between Humboldt & 20th Aves. S. 44°57′3"N 93°16′18"W	Minneapolis
14	Faribault Viaduct			Division St. over Straight River 44°17′27"N 93°16′0"W	Faribault
15	Intercity Bridge Intercity Bridge The Intercity Bridge, more commonly known as the Ford Parkway Bridge , is a reinforced concrete arch bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Minneapolis, Minnesota and St. Paul, Minnesota. It connects 46th Street in Minneapolis with Ford Parkway in Saint Paul...			Ford Pkwy. over Mississippi River 44°55′4"N 93°12′14"W	St. Paul
16	Interlachen Bridge Interlachen Bridge The Interlachen Bridge is a reinforced concrete arch bridge on William Berry Parkway between Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The bridge crosses the Como-Harriet Streetcar Line, a heritage streetcar line operated by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum which follows the same...			William Berry Dr. over Minnesota Transportation Museum street railway track in William Berry Park 44°55′53"N 93°18′31"W	Minneapolis
17	Lester River Bridge-Bridge No. 5772			London Rd. over the Lester R. 46°50′12"N 92°0′22"W	Duluth
18	Nymore Bridge			First St. over Mississippi River 47°28′1"N 94°52′42"W	Bemidji
19	Queen Avenue Bridge Queen Avenue Bridge The Queen Avenue Bridge is a reinforced concrete single-span barrel arch bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota that spans the tracks used by the Minnesota Streetcar Museum. The bridge was built in 1905 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places....			W. Lake Harriet Blvd. over Minnesota Transportation Museum street railway track 44°55′28"N 93°18′40"W	Minneapolis
20	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...			Robert St. over Mississippi River 44°56′41"N 93°5′17"W	St. Paul