Erected 1895 • Demolished 1951

Hastings Spiral Bridge Only One of Its Kind in America

April 27 1895 eight thousand people commemorated the opening of the new "High Wagon Bridge" across the Mississippi River.

It was built in seven months at a cost of $39,050 by the Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Works of Milwaukee, replacing the inadequate rope ferry which served the city of 3,848 people and its trade area.

Four men claim credit for its design. The traditional straight approach by-passed the business area, thus this spiral ramp deposited off-coming traffic at the foot of Sibley Street half a block from the city's commercial district.

Motorized heavier traffic required a new bridge completed in 1951, at a cost of $2,500,000. Efforts to save the spiral approach failed.

Statistics

Minnesota Bridge   4820

Bridge proper — Baltimore truss with curved top chord

Total bridge length — 1987 feet

Length of Earth approach — 120 feet

Length of spiral approach — 385 feet

Height of spiral approach — 60 feet

Length of channel span — 380 feet

Roadway width — 18 feet

Sidewalk width — 4½ feet with 8 inch elevation above road on east side

Load limit — 256½ tons

Total cost — $39,050

Completed — April 17, 1895

Demolished — 1951

Erected by the Hastings Bicentennial Commission

Dedicated May 31 1976

Marker is on Sibley Street north of East 2nd Street (Main Street), on the right when traveling north.

Courtesy hmdb.org

Credits and Sources: