Historic Bridges

Bridge 8096

History and significance

Bridge 8096 carries State Highway 19 over Spring Creek within the campus boundaries of Carleton College in Northfield, Rice County. The crossing was built in two stages. The original 1918 construction produced a spandrel-filled, reinforced-concrete arch with solid-parapet concrete railings. In 1947 the bridge was widened and sidewalls were covered with roughly coursed, rock-faced limestone detailed in the Late Gothic Revival Style. Buttressed pilasters frame the arch opening and abutment retaining walls and pointed arches punctuate the parapet railings. The stone masonry reflects an architectural style that was unusual for 1947 and likely relates to the surrounding landscaping that includes a small stone dam, lake, and college arboretum. The bridge is an excellent example of an ornamental, stone-faced, concrete-arch bridge.

Rehabilitation activities

The rehabilitation of Bridge 8096 on Trunk Highway 19 in Northfield was completed in 2017. The project repaired and waterproofed the bridge's concrete arch. The limestone on the headwalls, wingwalls, and railing had deteriorated to the point that all stone required careful in-kind replacement guided by documentary photos. The crumbling stone railing was replaced by a hidden, crashworthy concrete barrier over which the stone was applied. The project also installed a new concrete deck.

Location

City of Northfield (Rice County)
Latitude, Longitude: 44.46405354, -93.15394160

Bridge features