Intercity Bridge

Infobox_Bridge
bridge_name=Intercity Bridge

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caption=
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carries=Four lanes of vehicle traffic (Ford Parkway in St. Paul to 46th Street in Minneapolis)
crosses=Mississippi River
locale=Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota
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design=Concrete arch
mainspan=Three main spans of 300 feet
length=1,523.6 feet
width=64.7 feet
clearance=
below=
traffic=
open=1927
closed=
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coordinates= coord|44|55|4.25|N|93|12|4.90|W|region:US_type:landmark
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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 that spans the Mississippi River between Minneapolis, Minnesota 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. The Intercity Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is notable as one of the monumental concrete rib-arch bridges spanning the high river bluffs along the Mississippi River, along with the Franklin Avenue Bridge, the Third Avenue Bridge, the 10th Avenue Bridge, and the Robert Street Bridge.

The bridge was originally built to service Ford's Twin Cities Assembly Plant, 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 and growth in Minneapolis neighborhoods on the opposite side of the bridge. It was not until after World War II that the desired growth in the Highland Park area resulted from the bridge. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 1996
url = http://www.mnhs.org/places/nationalregister/bridges/nrraib/nrraint.html
title = Minnesota's Historic Bridges - Intercity Bridge
format =
work = Minnesota's Historic Bridges
publisher = Minnesota Historical Society
accessdate = 2006-04-17
accessyear = ]

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. [cite web
last = Weeks
first = John
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2005
url = http://www.johnweeks.com/bridges/pages/ms10.html
title = Intercity Bridge, St. Paul, MN
format =
work = The Bridges Of Minneapolis And St. Paul
publisher =
accessdate = 2006-04-17
accessyear = ] The rebuilding project was given an award by the Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers in 2006. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
year = 2006
url = http://www.mnspe.org/programs/seven_wonders.shtml
title = Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers - Seven Wonders Awards
format =
work =
publisher = Minnesota Society of Professional Engineers
accessdate = 2006-04-17
accessyear = ]

Pictures

ee also

*List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

References

Crossings navbox
structure = Bridges
place = Mississippi River
bridge = Intercity Bridge
bridge signs =
upstream = Lake Street Bridge
upstream signs =
downstream = Fort Road Bridge
downstream signs =