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 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 St. Croix Falls supplies power to the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area.
U.S. Route 71 is a major north–south United States highway that extends for over 1500 miles in the central United States. This original 1926 route has remained largely unchanged by encroaching Interstate highways. Currently, the highway's northern terminus is in International Falls, Minnesota at the Canada–US border, at the southern end of the Fort Frances-International Falls International Bridge to Fort Frances, Ontario. U.S. Route 53 also ends here. On the other side of the bridge, Trans-Canada Highway 11 is an east–west route. US 71's southern terminus is between Port Barre and Krotz Springs, Louisiana at an intersection with U.S. Route 190.
The Mendota Bridge carries Minnesota State Highways 55 and 62 over the Minnesota River between Fort Snelling and Mendota Heights. It is the final bridge over the Minnesota River before the Minnesota flows into the Mississippi River at the "Meeting of the waters" or "Mendota" in the Dakota language. Traffic on the north end of the bridge may turn onto the Fort Road Bridge to cross the Mississippi River into St. Paul, Minnesota. The skylines of both Minneapolis and St. Paul can be seen simultaneously from the bridge.
The North Channel Bridge crosses the north channel of the Mississippi River between Latsch Island and Buffalo County, Wisconsin.
The Wabasha–Nelson Bridge is a truss bridge that connects Wabasha, Minnesota with Nelson, Wisconsin, crossing the Mississippi River. The bridge has a street setup, with one lane for motor vehicles in each direction. It carries Minnesota State Highway 60 and WI 25.
The High Bridge is a bridge that carries Minnesota State Highway 149 and Smith Avenue over the Mississippi River in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It was built and opened in 1987 at a cost of $20 million. The bridge carries two lanes of street traffic over the river and is the highest bridge in St. Paul, with a deck height of 160 ft (49 m) and a clearance below of 149 ft (45 m).
Minnesota State Highway 115 is a highway in central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with U.S. Highway 10 in Randall and continues east to its eastern terminus at its interchange with Highway 371 at Camp Ripley Junction in Ripley Township near the city of Little Falls.
The Cedar Avenue Bridge carries Minnesota State Highway 77 across the Minnesota River between the Minneapolis-St. Paul suburbs of Bloomington and Eagan, Minnesota. The two parallel crossings for northbound and southbound lanes are respectively 5,159 feet and 5,185 feet in length. It was built in 1979, superseding an older swing bridge by the same name that was composed of low-lying truss segments. The modern bridge has three lanes in each direction, in addition to a shoulder which is often used by buses to get past traffic slowdowns.
The I-694 Bridge is a pair of girder bridges that spans the Mississippi River between the cities of Brooklyn Center and Fridley in Minnesota. The westbound bridge was built in 1963 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and widened in 1987 with a new structure above the piers. The eastbound bridge was built in 1988, also by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The Highway 24 Bridge is a steel girder bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Clearwater, Minnesota and Clear Lake, Minnesota. It was designed and built in 1958 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The bridge is longer than any other bridge upstream of the Richard P. Braun Bridge in Coon Rapids, Minnesota. This is because the Highway 24 bridge crosses a river road and three spans of floodplain before actually crossing the Mississippi.
Veterans Bridge is a steel girder bridge that spans the Mississippi River in St. Cloud, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 1971 and was designed by Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff.
Trunk Highway 60 (MN 60) is a highway in southern Minnesota, which runs from Iowa Highway 60 at the Iowa state line and continues east-northeast to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line, where the route becomes Wisconsin Highway 25 upon crossing the Mississippi River.
Minnesota State Highway 43 is a highway in southeast Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 44 in Mabel and continues north to its northern terminus at the Wisconsin state line at Winona, where it becomes Wisconsin Highway 54 upon crossing the Mississippi River.
Minnesota State Highway 200 (MN 200) is a highway in northwest and northeast Minnesota, which runs from North Dakota Highway 200 at the North Dakota state line near Halstad, and continues east to its eastern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highway 2 in Northeast Aitkin County, 9-miles west of Floodwood.
Lexington Bridge is a plate girder bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Saint Paul and Lilydale, Minnesota, United States. It was built in 2004 by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
The Washington Street Bridge was built 1932-1934 in Brainerd in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It carries four lanes of Minnesota State Highway 210 across the Upper Mississippi River.
The Canadian Pacific Railway Merriam Park Subdivision or Merriam Park Sub, also known as the Short Line, is a railway line in Saint Paul, Minnesota, which runs from Pig's Eye Yard and the CP River Subdivision in the east to the Short Line Bridge over the Mississippi River in the west, where rails continue as part of the Minnesota Commercial Railway. It was named for John L. Merriam, a Minnesota banker and politician. Completed by the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad in 1880, it shortened the route Milwaukee Road trains took between downtown Saint Paul and downtown Minneapolis. Previous trains would exit Saint Paul and follow the Mississippi River southwest until crossing at Fort Snelling where they would follow the path of today's Hiawatha Avenue and METRO Blue Line toward the Milwaukee Road Depot. Originally built as an interurban route, it was eventually converted for heavy rail traffic because the Twin City Rapid Transit streetcar system had taken over the local transit market.
Camp Ripley Bridge, also known as Bridge 4969, is the only remaining unified road–rail bridge over the Mississippi River. It carries both a railroad spur line and Minnesota State Highway 115 at Camp Ripley in Morrison County.
