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DM&E Root River Overflow Bridge

Lost Through Girder Bridge over Root River Back Channel
La Crescent, Houston County, Minnesota

Click the Photo Above to See All Photos of This Bridge!
Name DM&E Root River Overflow Bridge
Built By Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific Railway
Contractor Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company of Milwaukee
Currently Owned By Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railway
Length 225 Feet Total, 85 Foot Main Span
Width 1 Track
Height Above Ground 10 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Type Through Girder, Steel Stringer and Trestle
Substructure Type Timber Pile
Date Built 1928
Date Lost 2017
Traffic Count 8 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status In Use
MILW Bridge Number K-700
Significance Local Significance


Located south of La Crescent, this bridge featured a single through girder main span, approached by trestle.
Built in 1928, the bridge was constructed to replace an earlier concrete slab bridge. The replacement bridge consisted of a single through girder span, approached by trestle. A single steel stringer span was added in 1949 to the north approach. The entire bridge was set onto timber substructures.
Bridges like this are common to cross bodies of water. This particular structure was replaced in approximately 2017 by a concrete span.
Overall, the bridge was in fair to poor condition at the time of replacement. While the main span was actually relatively young, the timber substructures undoubtedly doomed this bridge.

The author ranked the bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.

Citations

Source Type

Source

Build Date Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company plaque
Contractor Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company plaque
Railroad Line History Source ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele