Wakota Bridge, Minnesota

Wakota Bridge
Spans	Mississippi River
Lanes	2×5
Total length	576 meters
Main span	142 meters
Bridge deck height	20 meters
Opening	2006/2010
Traffic intensity	104,000 mvt/day
Location	Map

According to Bestitude, the Wakota Bridge is a box girder bridge in the United States, located in the state of Minnesota. The bridge spans the Mississippi River southeast of St. Paul and is part of Interstate 494.

Characteristics

The Wakota Bridge is a concrete box bridge bridge and actually consists of two parallel spans built against each other. The bridge is a total of 576 meters long with a main span of 142 meters. The bridge is one of the widest in the Minneapolis-St. Paul and is approximately 59 meters wide. The bridge has 2×5 lanes, left and right emergency lanes and a pedestrian/bicycle path on the north side. The bridge connects the suburbs of South St. Paul and Newport and is part of the Interstate 494 beltway. The Wakota Bridge is toll-free.

History

Wakota Bridge (1959)

The first Wakota Bridge opened to traffic in 1959 and was a steel arch bridge. This bridge was 570 meters long and had a main span of 128 meters. The bridge deck was 16.5 meters wide, with 2×2 lanes, without emergency lanes. The bridge soon became unsuitable for the increasing traffic. On both sides were connections with short insertion strips. In 2009 the bridge was given the status “structurally deficient” during an inspection.

Named after the counties it connects, the bridge is a portmanteau of Washington and Dakota County.

Wakota Bridge (2006)

Due to the extreme congestion on the bridge, a plan was made in the early 1990s to replace the bridge with a bridge with a larger capacity and more modern design requirements. A toll bridge was proposed in 1995, but the surrounding municipalities were not keen on building a toll road. The original plans envisaged a bridge with 2×4 lanes, but to avoid weaving problems with local traffic, a cross section of 2×5 lanes was chosen, with a long weaving strip between the two connections on both sides of the bridge. The first new Wakota Bridge was constructed between 2003 and 2006 and was the span for westbound traffic. This was built north of the old bridge from 1959, which was demolished after the new bridge was opened.

Wakota Bridge (2010)

It was originally planned to tender both new spans under one contract, which has happened. However, construction problems and financial setbacks for the contractor prevented the contractor from building the second span. This project was subsequently put out to tender again in 2008, after which construction began. On July 1, 2010, the second span opened for traffic heading east.

Traffic intensities

In 2012, 104,000 vehicles drove over the bridge every day, which is more than sufficiently dimensioned for this traffic intensity.

Saint Paul

The Cathedral of Saint Paul.

Saint Paul is the capital of the US state of Minnesota. The city has 287,151 inhabitants, making it the largest city in the city after neighboring Minneapolis. Together with Minneapolis, Saint Paul forms one large conurbation of 3,422,264 inhabitants. These two cities are collectively known as Twin Cities. Saint Paul is the county seat of Ramsey County. Saint Paul has its own airport, St. Paul Downtown Airport, but it is actually only used by the military. The international airport is Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, which it shares with Minneapolis. Saint Paul is home to the Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. This is a zoo, greenhouse, amusement park , swimming pool and golf course in one.

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