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Robert Street Bridge

 
Robert Street Bridge

 
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The Robert Street Bridge is a reinforced concrete multiple-arch bridge that spans the Mississippi River
Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
 in downtown St. Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the state capital and second most populated city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the north bank of the Mississippi River, downstream of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, Minnesota, the state's List of cities in Minnesota....
, 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
St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge

The St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge is a lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. This is one of only three vertical lift bridges along the Mississippi River, along with the Hastings Rail Bridge in Hastings, Minnesota and the Wabash Bridge in Hannibal, Missouri....
 crossing underneath it at an angle, and roadways on the downtown side of St. Paul. The bridge is also notable for a monumental reinforced concrete rainbow arch. The rainbow arch not only provides 62 feet of headroom above the river, but also provides a strong aesthetical focus.






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The Robert Street Bridge is a reinforced concrete multiple-arch bridge that spans the Mississippi River
Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
 in downtown St. Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint Paul is the state capital and second most populated city in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies on the north bank of the Mississippi River, downstream of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, Minnesota, the state's List of cities in Minnesota....
, 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
St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge

The St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge is a lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. This is one of only three vertical lift bridges along the Mississippi River, along with the Hastings Rail Bridge in Hastings, Minnesota and the Wabash Bridge in Hannibal, Missouri....
 crossing underneath it at an angle, and roadways on the downtown side of St. Paul. The bridge is also notable for a monumental reinforced concrete rainbow arch. The rainbow arch not only provides 62 feet of headroom above the river, but also provides a strong aesthetical focus. It was built in 1924-1926 by Fegles Construction Company, Ltd. and designed by Toltz, King & Day, Inc. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation....
 in 1989.

Robertstreetbridge2
The bridge was commissioned in the early 1920s to replace a wrought-iron span, originally built in 1884-1885, that had become obsolete due to increasing traffic. The engineers who designed the bridge had several obstacles to work around. The tracks of the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway

The Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway or Omaha Road was a railroad in the U.S. states of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and South Dakota....
, St. Paul Union Depot, and the Chicago Great Western Railway
Chicago Great Western Railway

The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Illinois, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Omaha, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Kansas....
 mainline were factors. The engineers also had to provide adequate clearance above the river, as defined by the United States War Department at the time. Finally, the bridge had to clear Second Street in downtown St. Paul and work through a busy manufacturing district at the south end. The location of nearly every pier was dictated by these requirements. As a result, the bridge was designed with a combination of barrel-arch and rib-arch flanking spans and a rainbow arch for the central span.

One of the members of the crew building the bridge was Warren Burger, future Chief Justice of the United States
Chief Justice of the United States

The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal courts and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States....
.

See also

  • List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River
    List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

    This is a list of all current and notable former bridges or other crossings of the Upper Mississippi River Mississippi River which begins at the Mississippi River's source and extends to its confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois....