Franklin Avenue Bridge
Coordinates: 44 ° 57 ′ 50 ″ N , 93 ° 13 ′ 22 ″ W.
 Franklin Avenue Bridge
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| Official name | FW Cappelen Memorial Bridge | |
| use | Franklin Avenue
(Hennepin County Road 5) |
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| Crossing of | Mississippi River | |
| place | Minneapolis , Minnesota | |
| Entertained by | Minnesota Department of Transportation | |
| Building number | 2441 | |
| construction | Concrete arch bridge | |
| overall length | 321 m | |
| Longest span | 122 m | |
| start of building | 1919 | |
| completion | 1923 | |
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| Bridges in Minneapolis / St. Paul | ||
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The Franklin Avenue Bridge , officially FW Cappelen Memorial Bridge , is an arch bridge in the city of Minneapolis in the state of Minnesota in the USA . It runs Franklin Avenue across the Mississippi River .
The 321 meter long bridge consists of three large arches. The middle one has a span of 122 meters, which was a record when the bridge was completed in 1923. The structure was designed by the Norwegian - American city engineer of Minneapolis, Frederick W. Cappelen , who had previously built the Third Avenue Bridge . Cappelen died during the construction of the bridge, which began in 1919, which is why it is officially named FW Cappelen Memorial Bridge after him . The construction was completed by his assistant Kristoffer Olsen Oustad , who was also from Norway and who was already involved in the design of the bridge.
The Franklin Avenue Bridge opened to traffic on December 7, 1923 and is used by around ten thousand vehicles every day. A tram line also ran over the bridge until 1940. After it was built, the bridge was neglected because it was assumed at the time that the materials used did not require any maintenance. In 1970 it was in such poor condition that it had to be closed to traffic. After three years of total renovation, during which the bridge was removed down to the arches, it was able to be put back into operation in 1973. During the renovation, it turned out that the bridge was oversized, which is why only half as many uprights were used during the renovation as with the original bridge and the deck could still be widened. In 2011 the bridge showed severe chipping on the pillars.
On the site of today's Franklin Bridge, a bridge was built in 1889, which could be used by wagons and pedestrians. It was removed again before the new bridge was built, but the foundations of the piers are still visible below the current bridge.
Web links
Franklin Avenue Bridge. In: Structurae
Individual evidence
- ^ John W. Diers, Aaron Isaacs: Twin Cities by Trolley: The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul
- ^ John A. Weeks III: FW Cappelen Memorial Bridge, Minneapolis, MN (English), accessed July 18, 2012
- ^ Structural deterioration as Franklin Avenue bridge main piers rot away
- ↑ Mississippi River Field Guide: Cappelen Memorial (Franklin Avenue) Bridge ( Memento of the original from October 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English), accessed July 18, 2012
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Upstream Dartmouth Bridge |
Crossing the Mississippi River |
Downstream Short Line Bridge |