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.
U.S. Highway 8 (US 8) is a United States Numbered Highway that runs primarily east–west for 280 miles (451 km), mostly within the state of Wisconsin. It connects Interstate 35 (I-35) in Forest Lake, Minnesota, to US 2 at Norway in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near the border with Wisconsin. Except for the short freeway segment near Forest Lake, and sections near the St. Croix River bridge and Rhinelander, Wisconsin, it is mostly an undivided surface road. As a state highway in the three states, US 8 is maintained by the Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan departments of transportation.
Minnesota State Highway 36 (MN 36) is a 21.718-mile-long (34.952 km) highway in Minnesota, which runs from its interchange with Interstate 35W in Roseville and continues east to its eastern terminus at the Wisconsin state line, where it becomes Wisconsin Highway 64 upon crossing the St. Croix River at the St. Croix Crossing bridge. A portion of Highway 36 is a major freeway in suburban Minneapolis – Saint Paul.
The Aerial Lift Bridge, earlier known as the Aerial Bridge or Aerial Ferry Bridge, is a landmark in the port city of Duluth, Minnesota. The span began life in 1905 as the United States' first transporter bridge: Only one other was ever constructed in the country, Sky Ride in Chicago. The span was converted in 1929–1930 to a vertical-lift bridge – also rather uncommon, although there are six such bridges along Ontario's Welland Canal – and continues to operate today. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 22, 1973. The bridge is owned and operated by the City of Duluth. The United States Army Corps of Engineers maintains a nearby maritime museum.
Minnesota State Highway 23 (MN 23) is a state highway that stretches from southwestern to northeastern Minnesota. At 343.723 miles (553.169 km) in length, it is the second longest state route in Minnesota, after MN 1.
The Third Avenue Bridge is a landmark structure of the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, originally known as the St. Anthony Falls Bridge. It carries road traffic across the Mississippi River and upper fringes of Saint Anthony Falls. The multi-arched bridge meets with Third Avenue in downtown Minneapolis at its south end, but curves as it crosses the river, and connects with Central Avenue on its north end. The shallow "S" curve in the bridge was built to avoid fractures in the limestone bedrock that supports the bridge piers. The road is also designated Minnesota State Highway 65. Construction began in 1914, and it opened four years later in 1918. The bridge, which uses Melan arches of an open spandrel design, has been modified since that time. The 2,223-foot crossing was designed by city engineer Frederick W. Cappelen, who also created plans for other similar bridges in Minneapolis such as the Franklin Avenue Bridge. It cost US$862,254.00 at the time of construction.
The 10th Avenue Bridge crosses the Mississippi River near downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota and also in proximity to the University of Minnesota. The bridge historically was called the Cedar Avenue Bridge from days prior to the construction of the I-35W bridge when it connected to Cedar Ave. The bridge connects 10th Avenue Southeast, on the east side of the Mississippi River to 19th Avenue South, on the west side. The Seven Corners area of the Cedar-Riverside, Minneapolis neighborhood is at the south end of the bridge. The downstream end of the lower Saint Anthony Falls lock and dam extends under the bridge. The historic Southeast Steam Plant is also nearby.
Interstate Park comprises two adjacent state parks on the Minnesota–Wisconsin border, both named Interstate State Park. They straddle the Dalles of the St. Croix River, a deep basalt gorge with glacial potholes and other rock formations. The Wisconsin park is 1,330 acres (538 ha) and the Minnesota park is 298 acres (121 ha). The towns of Taylors Falls, Minnesota and St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin are adjacent to the park. Interstate Park is within the Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway and the Ice Age National Scientific Reserve. The western terminus of the Ice Age National Scenic Trail is on the Wisconsin side. On the Minnesota side, two areas contain National Park Service rustic style buildings and structures that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Mendota Bridge, in the US state of Minnesota carries State Highway 55 (MN 55) and MN 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 (MN 5) to cross the Mississippi River into Saint Paul, Minnesota. The skylines of both Minneapolis and Saint Paul can be seen simultaneously from the bridge.
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.
Minnesota State Highway 95 is a 126.892-mile-long (204.213 km) highway in east-central Minnesota, which runs from its intersection with State Highway 23 near St. Cloud and continues east and south to its southern terminus at its intersection with U.S. Highways 61 / 10 (co-signed) at Cottage Grove.
Main Channel Bridge (Winona) consists of a pair of bridges, the original cantilever bridge, and a concrete box girder bridge completed in 2016, that span the main channel of the Mississippi River in the United States between Winona, Minnesota, and Latsch Island. Another bridge, the North Channel Bridge, connects the island to rural Buffalo County, Wisconsin. The bridge carries Minnesota State Highway 43, which continues as Wisconsin Highway 54 at the Minnesota/Wisconsin state line on the nearby North Channel Bridge; in Winona, it connects to Winona Street.
State Trunk Highway 64 (WIS 64) is a 275.65-mile-long (443.62 km) highway in Wisconsin, which runs from the St. Croix Crossing bridge as a continuation of Minnesota State Highway 36 (MN 36) near Stillwater, Minnesota, and continues east to its eastern terminus in downtown Marinette, where it terminates at US Highway 41 (US 41) at an intersection on the corner of Marinette and Hall Avenue. Along the way, Highway 64 runs east–west through eight counties across northern Wisconsin.
The St. Croix Boom Site is a historic and scenic wayside on the St. Croix River in Stillwater Township, Minnesota, United States. It commemorates the location of a critical log boom where, from 1856 to 1914, timber from upriver was sorted and stored before being dispatched to sawmills downstream. The site was developed as a roadside park along Minnesota State Highway 95 in the 1930s. In 1966 it was designated a National Historic Landmark for its national significance in the theme of industry. It was nominated for being the earliest, most important, and longest serving of the log storage and handling operations that supported Minnesota's major logging industry. Virtually no traces remain of the site's original buildings and structures.
Trunk Highway 243 and State Trunk Highway 243 are two short state highways in the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. They connect MN 95 in Franconia Township, Minnesota with WIS 35 in Osceola, Wisconsin. The two highways meet at the state line on a bridge across St. Croix River. The combined highway is 1.53 miles (2.46 km) in length, 1.23 miles (1.98 km) in Minnesota and 0.30 miles (0.48 km) in Wisconsin. The two highways were designated in 1949. The bridge across the St. Croix River dates to 1953.
Interstate 94 (I-94) in the US state of Minnesota runs 259 miles (417 km) east–west through the central portion of the state. The highway connects the cities of Moorhead, Fergus Falls, Alexandria, St. Cloud, Minneapolis, and Saint Paul. Authorized in 1956, it was mostly constructed in the 1960s.
The I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge crosses the Mississippi River one-half mile downstream from the Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the U.S., carrying north–south traffic on Interstate Highway 35W. The ten-lane bridge replaced the I-35W Mississippi River bridge, which collapsed on August 1, 2007. It was planned and is maintained by the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT). The planning, design, and construction processes were completed more quickly than normal because Interstate 35W is a critical artery for commuters and truck freight. The bridge opened September 18, 2008, well ahead of the original goal of December 24.
The Soo Line High Bridge, also known as the Arcola High Bridge, is a steel deck arch bridge over the St. Croix River between Stillwater, Minnesota and Somerset, Wisconsin, United States. It was designed by structural engineer C.A.P. Turner and built by the American Bridge Company from 1910 to 1911. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 for its national significance in the themes of engineering and transportation. It was nominated for its exceptional dimensions, beauty, innovative engineering techniques, and importance to transportation between Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The Moritz Bergstein Shoddy Mill and Warehouse are two historic industrial buildings in Stillwater, Minnesota, United States, in which Jewish German immigrant Moritz Bergstein conducted a recycling business circa 1890 to 1910 providing materials for mattresses. They were originally built in Oak Park Heights, Minnesota, around 1890 and were moved to neighboring Stillwater in 2012 to make way for construction of the St. Croix Crossing bridge. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008 for its local significance in the themes of industry and social history. It was nominated as a rare surviving embodiment of Minnesota's early Jewish immigrants and their frequent participation in the waste materials trade.
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.
