Mississippi River Bridge (La Crosse, Wisconsin)

Mississippi River Bridge
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Mississippi River Bridge; La Crosse, Wisconsin
Coordinates	43°48′33″N 91°15′34″W / 43.80917°N 91.25944°W
Carries	4 lanes of US 14 / US 61/ WIS 16
Crosses	Mississippi River
Locale	La Crosse, Wisconsin and La Crescent, Minnesota
Other name(s)	Cass Street Bridge and Cameron Avenue Bridge The Big Blue Bridges
Maintained by	Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Design	Cantilever bridge (Cass Street); Tied arch bridge (Cameron Avenue)
Total length	2,532 feet (772 m) (Cass Street); 2,573 feet (784 m) (Cameron Avenue)
Width	30 feet (9 m) (Cass Street); 50 feet (15 m) (Cameron Avenue)
Longest span	475 feet (145 m) (Cameron Avenue)
Clearance below	67 feet (20 m) (Cass Street); 68 feet (21 m) (Cameron Avenue)
History
Opened	September 1939 (Cass Street); November 17, 2004 (Cameron Avenue)
Location

The Mississippi River Bridge is a combination of two individual bridges which are also known as the Cass Street Bridge and the Cameron Avenue Bridge, as well as the Big Blue Bridges. They connect downtown La Crosse, Wisconsin to Barron Island, crossing the east channel of the Mississippi River. Another bridge, the La Crosse West Channel Bridge connects Barron Island to La Crescent, Minnesota. The Mississippi River Bridge carries U.S. Routes 14 and 61 with WI 16. There is another bridge about four miles upstream, the I-90 Mississippi River Bridge that connects North La Crosse, French Island, and Dresbach, Minnesota.^[2]

The Cass Street Bridge opened Sept. 23, 1939; replacing the previous Vernon Street swing bridge which was heavily damaged following an automobile accident in 1935.^[3]^[4]

The bridges original concrete deck was replaced by a metal deck in 1983.

In 2004, a new tied arch bridge opened, at this point, the original bridges deck was rehabilitated and both bridges were reopened concurrently in 2005. ^[3]