Short Line Bridge
44.956388888889 - 93.2125Koordinaten: 44 ° 57 ' 23 " N, 93 ° 12' 45 " W
F1
Minnesota Commercial Railway
Mississippi River
The Short Line Bridge is a truss bridge made of steel that crosses the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was originally built during the 1880s by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and expanded a few years later. The planning of the works carried out by the American Bridge Company.
The bridge is located entirely within the city of Minneapolis, but the railway line passes less than 800 meters further east to the city of Saint Paul. The name " Short Line " is derived from the time of the construction of a shorter, more direct connection between the two cities by the railway company. Previously there was a connection from a route that ran along the river to the southwest and then led into the center of Minneapolis northwest of Mendota and north of Fort Snelling. This short route was a series of construction projects during that time, which included a round house and a depot near the present-day intersection of Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue, and a line in a westerly direction, which lay north of Lake Street, where today, the Midtown Greenway is located.
After the rail between the Twin Cities was less important towards the end of the 20th century, the railway company a number of its rail routes has abandoned in the area. The bridge is still in use by the Minnesota Commercial Railway to supply grain elevators along Hiawatha Avenue. They had considered to use the bridge as a connection across the river as part of the Midtown Greenway, the owner of the building - now the Canadian Pacific Railway - but was not receptive to the proposal.
In July 2006 a large fire on the bridge caused a loss of about $ 200,000. Until the repair of the railway had to rest. The cause of the fire was arson, fire accelerants were found. Through the Fire had the bridge at that point, only a capacity of about 25 kg. The authorities blocked off the bridge and now warns a sign on the fence in front of the unauthorized persons entering the building, which is punishable by fines and, in extreme cases, imprisonment. Within a few weeks after the fire the bridge was repaired, so that the customers of the railroad west of the river, which otherwise have no other way of siding could be operated again.