Historic Bridges

Anoka-Champlin Mississippi River Bridge (Bridge 4380)

History and significance

The Anoka-Champlin Mississippi River Bridge, completed in 1929 by the Minneapolis Bridge Company, carries U.S. Highway 169 over the Mississippi River between Anoka in Anoka County and Champlin in Hennepin County. It has 10 reinforced-concrete, continuous-arch spans, including eight open-spandrel, rib-arch spans and two filled-spandrel, rib-arch spans. Classical Revival details included a concrete railing with simple outlined panels, original iron lamp posts, and vertical fluting on the piers. A major rehabilitation and widening in 1996 included replacement of superstructure elements above the arch ribs. At this time, the original Classical Revival detailing in the ribs, piers, floor beams, railings, and abutments was either restored or reconstructed.

The bridge is significant as a fine representative of the open-spandrel concrete arch bridge type, which reached a high state of development in the Twin Cities and surrounding area in the late 1920s. In addition, it represents a major river crossing that joined together two communities with long-standing commercial and economic links.

Location

City of Anoka (Anoka County)
Latitude, Longitude: 45.19165771, -93.39530574

Bridge features