Hastings Rail Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:Hastings Rail Bridge
Crosses:Mississippi River
Carries:Canadian Pacific Railway and the Amtrak Empire Builder
Locale:Hastings, Minnesota
Design:Lift bridge
Num Track:1
Below: (span lifted), (span down)
Open:1981
Maint:Canadian Pacific Railway
Id:L-268
Coordinates:44.7467°N -92.8478°W
Traffic:20.0 trains per day [1]

Hastings Rail Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Hastings, Minnesota. It is one of only four lift spans on the Mississippi River, the others being at Hannibal, Missouri, Burlington, Iowa 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 interlocking tower.

See also

References

Notes and References

  1. Grant application . . The Merchants Bridge rehabilitation program . 2017 . Figure 10: Rail Traffic Volumes Overlaid with Seismic Hazard, 2014 .