Old Sartell Bridge

The Old Sartell Bridge is a bridge that spans the Mississippi River in the city of Sartell in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Though still standing, it is closed to traffic and was replaced by the Sartell Bridge constructed about 850 feet downstream. The bridge is around 1000 feet downstream of the Sartell Dam. The bridge was built during a six-month period in 1914, but over the years the bridge became congested and less able to carry heavy traffic. As early as 1957, heavy trucks were found to be too much for the span. When the new bridge was built in 1984, the old bridge was used as a pedestrian footbridge, but it became impractical for this use since there was a factory at the east end. The bridge carries utility lines and was reopened for pedestrian traffic on June 9, 2023 with lookouts for fishing. It is accessible to pedestrians from the west and closed on the east end.

Old Sartell Bridge
The Old Sartell Bridge as viewed from the Sartell Bridge to the south.
Coordinates	45°37′05″N 94°12′11″W
Carries	Only utility lines
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	Sartell, Minnesota
Maintained by	City of Sartell
Characteristics
Design	3 span Truss bridge
Total length	587 feet
Width	28 feet
Longest span	135 feet
Clearance below	18 feet
History
Opened	1914
Closed	1984
Location

The Old Sartell Bridge is a three span pin connected camelback through truss. The camelback design is a specific type of Parker truss, where the polygonal top chord is composed of exactly five sections. Each span of the Old Sartell Bridge is composed of six panels. The bridge is supported by concrete piers and abutments.

See also

• List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

References

• Historic Bridges of Michigan and Elsewhere - Provides identification information used to identify the Old Sartell Bridge.
• Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4.