Bridge Name: | Bridge of Hope |
Crosses: | Mississippi River, BNSF Railway, Benton Drive (Benton County Road 33) |
Carries: | Four lanes of |
Locale: | Sauk Rapids, Minnesota |
Design: | Precast concrete girder bridge |
Mainspan: | 140 feet |
Length: | 1711 feet |
Width: | 85 feet |
Below: | 18 feet |
Open: | 1995 |
Maint: | Minnesota Department of Transportation |
Id: | 05011 |
Coordinates: | 45.5994°N -94.1878°W |
The Bridge of Hope is a concrete girder bridge that spans the Mississippi River between Sartell, Minnesota and Sauk Rapids, Minnesota. The bridge was completed eight months early, aided by favorable weather and trouble-free construction. It was built in 1995 and was designed by Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Jim Hill Group.
The bridge is named in honor of Jacob Wetterling, a boy who was abducted from St. Joseph, Minnesota in 1989 (his remains were discovered in 2016). The name was chosen by a group of high school students who wanted to memorialize Wetterling and other missing children.