This bridge was built in 1913 by the Chicago & Great Western Railroad. The C&GW later became part of the Chicago & Northwestern, which is now part of the Union Pacific. As a result, some folks refer to this bridge as the C&NW Lift Bridge or the St. Paul Union Pacific Lift Bridge. This can be confusing since there are other major river bridges operated by these railroads.

In 1925, the north end of the bridge was raised 16 feet to tie in with the rail lines that served the St. Paul Union Depot. In 1926, the Robert Street Bridge was built, and made more of a challenge since it had to accommodate rail traffic from the lift bridge.

This is a great spot to watch trains. The best spot is a river overlook on the south side of the river. You can get very close to the trains, and still be a safe distance away and remain in a legal spot. Another place to watch is from the deck of the Robert Street Bridge on the north side of the river. There are a lot of trains in this area. Nearly all the trains coming in from the east and from along the Mississippi River flow through the area between the river and Dayton's Bluff. A large wye track sends over half of the traffic to the north to head towards Energy Park, while the remaining traffic comes though lower St. Paul, either headed towards the Omaha Bridge, the Short Line Bridge, or across the Great Western Lift Bridge.