St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge

The St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that spans the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is one of only three vertical-lift bridges along the Mississippi River, along with the Hastings Rail Bridge in Hastings, Minnesota, and the Wabash Bridge in Hannibal, Missouri. It was designed by Waddell & Harrington and built in 1913. In 1925, the north end of the bridge was raised about 16 feet (4.9 m) to tie in with tracks that served the St. Paul Union Depot yard. The vertical-lift span has 105-foot-high (32 m) towers, and the electrical lift system was built with a possible 45-foot (14 m) elevation. However, by 1973, the amount of lift was reduced to 37 feet (11 m) because of aging of the equipment.

St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge
The St. Paul Union Pacific Vertical-lift Rail Bridge with the Robert Street Bridge in the background
Coordinates	44°56′39″N 93°05′18″W
Carries	One track of the Union Pacific Railroad
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	St. Paul, Minnesota
Maintained by	Union Pacific Railroad
ID number	L332
Characteristics
Design	Vertical-lift bridge
Total length	940 feet
Width	21.9 feet
Longest span	192 feet
Clearance below	72 feet (with span lifted)
History
Opened	1913
Location

The bridge was originally built by the Chicago Great Western Railroad, which later became part of the Chicago and North Western Transportation Company. The Robert Street Bridge, built later in 1926, had to be carefully engineered around the railroad bridge.

In April 1997, high water on the Mississippi River reached the bottom of the span. The Union Pacific Railroad spotted a train of hopper cars laden with rocks on the bridge to help anchor it and keep it from being washed away.

In 2021, Union Pacific proposed demolishing the bridge and building a replacement with a drawbridge design.

See also

• List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River

References

• Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4.