In the 1990s, MN-DOT wanted to build a bypass around Brainerd that would help move traffic from the cities up into the lakes area without creating a bottleneck in the city of Brainerd. The solution was a new 6 mile segment of MN-371 that would go north to the west side of the city in the suburb of Baxter. Since the road would cut though a very scenic and undisturbed section of the state, MN-DOT felt that it was important to create a visually appealing road with a signature bridge over the Mississippi River.

The consensus is that MN-DOT did a great job with this project. The bridge is an ordinary prestressed concrete girder bridge, but it is dressed up with pillars, stylish piers, concrete accents, art work, and detailed metalwork. It is also proof that a bridge does not have to be overly expensive to be a nice looking structure.

Notice that the water is very brown in this area. These photos were taken during the spring run-off season. The water below here is brown until after the merger with the Crow Wing River, a large river that dilutes the brown from the Mississippi. Going north, the brown is present at Palisade, but once you get to Jacobson, it is pure blue again. The brown sediment is manganese, a metal commonly found in the iron range region of Minnesota.