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Hastings Rail Bridge

Coordinates: 44°44′48″N 92°50′52″W / 44.74667°N 92.84778°W / 44.74667; -92.84778
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Hastings Rail Bridge
A special-excursion passenger train crossing the bridge in 2010.
Coordinates44°44′48″N 92°50′52″W / 44.74667°N 92.84778°W / 44.74667; -92.84778
CarriesCanadian Pacific Railway and the Amtrak Empire Builder
CrossesMississippi River
LocaleHastings, Minnesota
Maintained byCanadian Pacific Railway
ID numberL-268
Characteristics
DesignLift bridge
Total length1,755 feet (535 m)
Longest span324 feet (99 m)
Clearance below60 feet (18 m) (span lifted), 21.9 feet (6.7 m) (span down)
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks1
History
Opened1981
Statistics
Daily traffic20.0 trains per day (as of 2014)[1]
Location
Map

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

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References

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  1. ^ Missouri Department of Transportation (2017). The Merchants Bridge rehabilitation program (PDF) (Grant application). Figure 10: Rail Traffic Volumes Overlaid with Seismic Hazard, 2014.
  • Costello, Mary Charlotte (2002). Climbing the Mississippi River Bridge by Bridge, Volume Two: Minnesota. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications. ISBN 0-9644518-2-4.
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