Sunday, June 05, 2011

Hastings Rail Bridge-Road Bridge#3:Sunday Bridges


During pleasant weather DH and I drive on Wisconsin Highway 35 following the Mississippi River along western Wisconsin. Although DH is quite good about indulging my photographic whims, he refuses to jam on the brakes while travelling in traffic. I took both photos from the car and am happy with the result. My contribution to Louis' bridges meme is this wonderful rail bridge described below.



Hastings Rail Bridge

A view of the Hastings Rail Bridge from the west.
CarriesOne track of the Canadian Pacific Railway
CrossesMississippi River
LocaleHastings, Minnesota
Maintained byCanadian Pacific Railway
ID numberL-268
DesignLift bridge
Total length1,755 feet (535 m)
WidthOne track
Longest span324 feet (99 m)
Clearance below60 feet (18 m) (span lifted), 21.9 feet (6.7 m) (span down)
Opened1981
Coordinates44°44′48″N 92°50′52″W

Hastings Rail Bridge is a lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota. It is one of only three lift spans on the Mississippi River, the others being at Hannibal, Missouri, and in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. It was built in 1981 by Milwaukee Road and was designed by Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendoff.
It crosses the Mississippi river in a north/south orientation from Hastings just upstream of Point Douglas, where the Saint Croix River empties into the Mississippi river. In addition to CP Rail traffic, the bridge also carries Amtrak's Empire Builder across the river.
Another nearby lift bridge is the Prescott BNSF lift bridge, in Prescott, Wisconsin that crosses the St. Croix River. The two tracks converge at the St. Croix.
(Credit: Wikipedia)

To see more bridges, go here.

14 comments:

  1. that's a pretty impressive bridge Kate, great shot taken on the move!!

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  2. This reminds me of the lift bridge in Duluth. This must be a Minnesota phenomenom.

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  3. We've driven through Hastings many times, usually on our way Red Wing to go biking! Beautiful shots, Kate! Especially from the car.

    And thank you so much for your words of comfort. They mean a lot!

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  4. Very cool industrial age structure!

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  5. Neat bridgework shot... and thanks for the info on it.

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  6. That's an amazing bridge with quite a history!

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  7. the tiny boat makes this bridge look like a massive presence. Cool perspective too.

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  8. Our DHs would get on famously! Yet these are super additions to our Sunday Bridges.

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  9. Very cool bridge. Interesting design.

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  10. That is quite an impressive "heavy-duty" looking bridge.

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  11. Your drive by still managed to capture a nicely balanced composition. I also like the shot of the counter-balance.

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  12. That's a most excellent structural piece and great photo of it! Looks really massive.

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  13. Beautiful looking bridge.

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  14. You did very well! Drive-by shots are not easy!

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