Rock Island Swing Bridge

The Rock Island Swing Bridge was a swing bridge that spanned the Mississippi River between Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota and St. Paul Park, Minnesota. It was also known as the Newport Rail Bridge, as it had a spur to Newport, Minnesota, and J.A.R. bridge. after previous owners Joan and Al Roman of Chicago. It was one of the few double-decker bridges on the Mississippi, with the top level formerly used for railroad traffic and the bottom level formerly used as a road crossing. It also was one of a few toll bridges in Minnesota, and one of the last remaining ones. It closed to rail traffic in 1980, and road traffic in 1999, when the toll was 75 cents. After closing, the bridge sat dormant in the open position for 10 years before being partially demolished in 2009. It was converted into a recreational pier which opened to the public on June 11, 2011.HistoryIt was built in 1895 by Pittsburgh Bridge Company. The bridge originally was built for the South St. Paul Beltline Railroad to connect stockyards in nearby South St. Paul, Minnesota to the mail rail lines of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy, and Milwaukee Road that run on the east bank of the Mississippi River in Washington County, Minnesota.The bridge was formerly owned by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until that line went bankrupt in 1980, first as a toll bridge until 1938, then as a free bridge. After that, local automotive traffic had to detour north to the Wakota Bridge or south to the Hastings High Bridge. Until the first Wakota Bridge was built in 1959, it was the only Mississippi crossing between Downtown St. Paul and Hastings, Minnesota.