The Mississippi River is the primary river, and second-longest river, of the largest drainage basin in the United States. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it flows generally south for 2,340 miles (3,766 km) to the Mississippi River Delta in the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains all or parts of 32 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces between the Rocky and Appalachian mountains. The main stem is entirely within the United States; the total drainage basin is 1,151,000 sq mi (2,980,000 km2), of which only about one percent is in Canada. The Mississippi ranks as the thirteenth-largest river by discharge in the world. The river either borders or passes through the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
The Great River Road is a collection of state and local roads that follow the course of the Mississippi River through ten states of the United States. They are Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. It formerly extended north into Canada, serving the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba. The road is designated as both a National Scenic Byway and an All-American Road in several states along the route.
Hastings is a city mostly in Dakota County, Minnesota, of which it is the county seat, with a portion in Washington County, Minnesota, United States. It is near the confluence of the Mississippi, Vermillion, and St. Croix Rivers. The population was 22,154 at the 2020 census. It is named for the first elected governor of Minnesota, Henry Hastings Sibley.
U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (U.S. 61) is a major United States highway that extends 1,400 miles (2,300 km) between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River and is designated the Great River Road for much of its route. As of 2004, the highway's northern terminus in Wyoming, Minnesota, is at an intersection with Interstate 35 (I-35). Until 1991, the highway extended north on what is now Minnesota State Highway 61 through Duluth to the Canada–U.S. border near Grand Portage, then continued to Thunder Bay, Canada, as Ontario Highway 61. Its southern terminus in New Orleans is at an intersection with U.S. Route 90. The route was an important south–north connection in the days before the interstate highway system.
The St. Croix River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 169 miles (272 km) long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lower 125 miles (201 km) of the river form the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The river is a National Scenic Riverway under the protection of the National Park Service. A hydroelectric plant at the Saint Croix Falls Dam supplies power to the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area.
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right. Small swing bridges as found over canals may be pivoted only at one end, opening as would a gate, but require substantial underground structure to support the pivot.
The Stillwater Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge crossing the St. Croix River between Stillwater, Minnesota, and Houlton, Wisconsin. It formerly connected Minnesota State Highway 36 and Wisconsin Highway 64. Around 18,000 vehicles crossed the bridge daily. The new St. Croix Crossing bridge crossing the St. Croix river valley to the south of Stillwater replaced its purpose, having opened to highway traffic on August 2, 2017, leaving the Stillwater Lift Bridge to be preserved and to be converted to bicycle/pedestrian use.
The Prescott Drawbridge, also called the Point Douglas Drawbridge, is a steel girder bridge with a double-leaf bascule drawbridge section. The roadbed of the drawbridge span is a steel grate. The bridge carries U.S. 10 across the St. Croix River and connects Prescott, Wisconsin, with the Point Douglas park area of Denmark Township, Minnesota. This is the only highway drawbridge in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area with active traffic. It was completed in 1990 and replaced a rare regional example of a Waddell & Harrington vertical-lift bridge completed in 1922 that operated as a toll bridge from 1923 to 1946. The environmental impact statement, published in 1979, considered a higher level fixed bridge at this location.
The Burlington Bridge is a vertical-lift railroad bridge across the Mississippi River between Burlington, Iowa, and Gulfport, Illinois, United States. It is currently owned by BNSF Railway and carries two tracks which are part of BNSF's Chicago–Denver main line.
The La Crosse Rail Bridge is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River between La Crescent, Minnesota and La Crosse, Wisconsin. The first bridge in this location initially was designed and ready to build by June 1876, and was completed in November 1876 by the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway, a predecessor of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. It was later replaced in 1902. It is at the Western end of the Canadian Pacific Railway Tomah Subdivision. Amtrak's Empire Builder crosses this bridge.
The Hastings High Bridge was a continuous steel through truss bridge that spanned the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota, United States. It was designed by Sverdrup and Parcel and was built in 1951 by Graus Construction Company of Hasting for $356,000. It was demolished in late 2013 when the current Hastings Bridge opened. It had been scheduled to be torn down and replaced by MNDot in 2019, but after the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis, it was re-prioritized and construction started in 2010.
Canadian Pacific Camden Place Rail Bridge is a truss bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This bridge is the official end of the navigable channel for river traffic. It was built in 1905 by the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway. In 1977, the bridge was modified to allow higher clearance under the center span. This was done by replacing the deck truss span with a shallower girder span. It is the main line crossing of the Mississippi River for the Canadian Pacific Railway transcontinental line.
The St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It 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. It was designed by Waddell & Harrington and built in 1913. In 1925, the north end of the bridge was raised about 16 feet (4.9 m) to tie in with tracks that served the St. Paul Union Depot yard. The vertical-lift span has 105-foot-high (32 m) towers, and the electrical lift system was built with a possible 45-foot (14 m) elevation. However, by 1973, the amount of lift was reduced to 37 feet (11 m) because of aging of the equipment.
St. Paul Union Pacific Rail Bridge, also known as the Hoffman Swing Bridge, is a swing bridge that spans the Mississippi River between South Saint Paul, Minnesota and Saint Paul, Minnesota in the United States. It was built in 1910 by the St. Paul Bridge and Terminal Railway, and was rebuilt in 1925, after a flood in 1951, and again in 1982.
The Rock Island Swing Bridge was a swing bridge that spanned the Mississippi River between Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and St. Paul Park, Minnesota. It was also known as the Newport Rail Bridge, as it had a spur to Newport, Minnesota, and J.A.R. bridge, after previous owners Joan and Al Roman of Chicago. It was one of the few double-decker bridges on the Mississippi, with the top level formerly used for railroad traffic and the bottom level formerly used as a road crossing. It also was one of a few toll bridges in Minnesota, and one of the last remaining ones. It closed to rail traffic in 1980, and road traffic in 1999, when the toll was 75 cents. After closing, the bridge sat dormant in the open position for 10 years before being partially demolished in 2009. It was converted into a recreational pier, which was open to the public on June 11, 2011.
The St. Croix Subdivision or St. Croix Sub is an American rail line operated by the BNSF Railway. It runs approximately 150 miles (240 km) from La Crosse, Wisconsin to Saint Paul, Minnesota, following the Mississippi River. It runs through the communities of La Crosse, Onalaska, Brice Prairie, Trempealeau, East Winona, Fountain City, Cochrane, Buffalo City, Alma, Nelson, Pepin, Stockholm, Maiden Rock, Bay City, Diamond Bluff, and Prescott, Wisconsin. This section of track sees 55-60 trains a day and is double tracked for most of the 150 miles with exceptions of Burns to Prescott, Mears to Trevino, and Winona Jct. to East Winona. The BNSF vertical lift bridge over the mouth of the St. Croix river is single-tracked.
The St. Croix Crossing is an extradosed bridge that spans the St. Croix River, between Oak Park Heights, Minnesota and St. Joseph, Wisconsin. Connecting Minnesota State Highway 36 and Wisconsin State Highway 64, the bridge carries four lanes of traffic, and includes a bike/pedestrian path on the north side.
The Winona Rail Bridge was a swing bridge that spanned the Mississippi River between Winona, Minnesota, and Winona Junction in Buffalo, Buffalo County, Wisconsin. It was built to link the Winona and St. Peter Railroad with the La Crosse, Trempealeau & Prescott Railroad. Both railroads became part of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company (C&NW). Parts of the bridge are still visible. The swing span was removed, but the box girder portion of the bridge still extends from Latsch Island just downstream of the current Main Channel Bridge. Piers from the original 1871 bridge and the box girders are in the North Channel just downstream of the current North Channel Bridge.
