MnDOT Bridge 5557
(1950)
Clementson, Minnesota

Bridge 5557 01

Minnesota Highway Department Bridge 5557 (MHPR LW-CLE-001) was a single-span, double-ribbed, open-spandrel, reinforced-concrete arch built in 1950 by the L. M. Feller Company (Rochester, Minnesota) through Federal Aid Project F.A.P. 400-15. It carried Trunk Highway 11 over the scenic, deeply-incised Rapid River drainage at the confluence with the Rainy River on the Canadian border. Although there were significant changes to the design of Bridge No. 5557’s original railing, the essential aesthetic quality of the single arch’s setting in the Rapid River’s dramatic watercourse remained intact. It was determined eligible for listing in the NRHP for its engineering and architectural design by MnDOT on the basis of recommendations in Management Plan for Minnesota’s Historic Bridges (2007). Unfortunately, the bridge could not be adapted for projected traffic on Highway 11. Before its demolition in 2010, ARCH3, LLC documented the bridge for the Minnesota Historic Property Record (MHPR).

Bridge 5557 - MHPR LW-CLE-001-05 (Please credit Daniel R. Pratt and the Minnesota Historic Property Record)

Bridge 5557 - MHPR LW-CLE-001-12 (Please credit Daniel R. Pratt and the Minnesota Historic Property Record)