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| Name | Nicollet Island Railroad Bridge Great Northern Railway Bridge #10.9 |
| Built By | Great Northern Railway |
| Currently Owned By | BNSF Railway |
| Superstructure Contractor (North Track Girder Spans) | American Bridge Company of New York |
| Superstructure Contractor (Other Spans) | Unknown |
| Substructure Contractor | Unknown |
| Length | 550 Feet Total, 171 Foot Main Span |
| Width | 2 Tracks |
| Height Above Ground | 20 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Type | Baltimore through truss, deck plate girder, steel stringer and concrete modular girder |
| Substructure Type | Stone masonry and concrete |
| Date Built | 1893, 1924, 1963, and 1987 |
| Traffic Count | 20 Trains/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | Open to Traffic |
| Great Northern Railway Bridge Number | A1.3 |
| BNSF Railway Bridge Number | 10.9 |
| Significance | Moderate Significance |
| Documentation Date | 7/1/2012; 4/4/2015; 5/21/2015 |
In 1867, the First Division of The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company constructed 14.70 miles of new railroad between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Lake Junction (Wayzata). Work would continue westward in 1868, with an additional 29 miles constructed to Howard Lake, Minnesota. Work resumed in 1869, with 49 more miles constructed, reaching Willmar, Minnesota. Work resumed in 1870, with 31 more miles constructed to Benson, and an additional 81 miles would be constructed to Breckenridge, Minnesota; located on the western Minnesota border. The railroad would be sold to the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway (StPM&M) in 1879.
During the 1880s, the StPM&M would acquire and construct a large amount of railroad lines throughout Minnesota. Owned by railroad magnate James J. Hill, the railroad would continue to grow into the 1890s, before being sold to the Great Northern Railway (GN) in 1907. The GN, like the StPM&M, was owned by James J. Hill, and the railroad would eventually reach the Pacific Coast at Seattle in 1893. The GN utilized this as a mainline, connecting the railroad town of Willmar to the Twin Cities, and to agricultural markets in Western Minnesota. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad. BN was in turn merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF currently operates the Minneapolis to Willmar portion of this line as the Wayzata Subdivision.
Located on the west side of Nicollet Island, this large bridge carries the BNSF Wayzata Subdivision across the main channel of the Mississippi River. The first bridge here was built in 1867, and was eventually replaced in 1893 by an iron bridge on stone substructures. The 1893 bridge featured a double track bridge, with two 173'-4" Pratt through truss spans, approached by a 57', an 82' and a 70' deck plate girder. In 1924, the bridge would be remodeled with new deck plate girder spans, with spans of 82', 73', 100', 100', 71' and 35' reusing the old stone substructures, as well as using new concrete substructures. The south track of the 82' span was built using a twinned deck plate girder, reusing both tracks from the 1893 bridge. A spur track was built on the west end of the bridge at this time to serve the Minneapolis depot, which featured spans with three girder lines. It is unknown where these spans originated from. In 1963, a 100' and the 71' span were replaced by a 7-panel riveted Baltimore through truss as part of a river navigation improvement project, and in 1987 two steel stringer spans were added to the west end of the bridge.
When the bridge was extended in 1987, the spur track was removed. Additional alterations came in 2008, when the east approach was replaced by a modular concrete girder span. The bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted in the structure. The author has rated the bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design and unique history.
Mississippi River Railroad Bridges
| Upstream Description | Next Bridge Upstream |
| Upstream Display | BNSF Mississippi River Bridge (North Minneapolis) |
| Adjacent Channel Description(s) | East Channel Bridge |
| Adjacent Channel Display | BNSF East Channel Bridge |
| Downstream Description(s) | Next Bridge Downstream |
| Downstream Display | Stone Arch Bridge |
Citations
| Builder and build date | American Bridge Company plaque |
| Build Date | National Bridge Inventory (NBI) plaque |
| Build Date | Historic Newspaper Article |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |