In the early part of the 20th century, the city of Minneapolis had three major road bridges across the Mississippi River in the downtown area. This included the Upper Bridge (at Plymouth Avenue), the Third Bridge (Hennepin Avenue), and the Lower Bridge.

The Lower Bridge crossed the river between 10th Avenue on the Minneapolis side of the river to 2nd Avenue on the St. Anthony side of the river. This bridge was built in 1874 as part of the agreement where the cities of Minneapolis and St. Anthony agreed to merge. The Lower Bridge was a deck truss bridge built on a series of masonry piers, and crossed the river on a diagonal. This bridge deteriorated to the point where it was closed in 1934, and it was removed in 1943. One bridge pier still exists sitting in the water near the east edge of the river near the University steam plant.

The issue with the Lower Bridge is that it was designed for pedestrian and wagon traffic typical in the late 1800s. It could did not hold up to the pounding from automobiles, and it could not support heavy trucks. The structure was also too light to support street cars. The growing city needed another river crossing. In fact, as Central Avenue was becoming the center of commerce north of the river, and the new highway 65 was planned to follow Lyndale Avenue and Central Avenue, it turns out that the Lower Bridge was not in the best location.

To meet these needs, the City of Minneapolis started the process of building a new bridge that would connect from 3rd Avenue on the downtown side of the river to Central Avenue on the north side of the river. The bridge was designed in-house by Frederick Cappelen, a famous city bridge engineer. The bridge was started in 1916 and was finished in June of 1918. The curves in the bridge were dictated by the rock in the upper level of the St. Anthony falls. The bridge needed good rock, and had to avoid locations where the rock was fractured. Once piers were built, large wooden structures called falsework was erected to support the arches while they were built. Once the arches were completed, the falsework was removed, and the spandrels and deck was installed.

As a result of its location on the edge of the falls, the bridge was known as the St. Anthony Falls Bridge when it first opened. That name fell out of favor, and the bridge is now known simply as the 3rd Avenue Bridge. The St. Anthony Falls name has since been applied to the new I-35W bridge. The 3rd Avenue Bridge is the longest S-curve shaped concrete arch bridge in the world. The bridge was marked as highway MN-65 until the mid-2000s.

By the 1970s, the 3rd Avenue Bridge had deteriorated badly. There was a debate whether it could be saved. The goal was to save the bridge since it is such a magnificent structure. However, it that was cost prohibitive, a new bridge would be needed. As it turned out, it was decided to replace everything from the arches up including the spandrels, deck, and guardrails. Once construction was underway, it was found that the bridge was in even worse condition that expected. At that point, it is likely that it would have been cheaper to abandon the project and tear the bridge down, but the city decided to continue with the project and refurbish the bridge. The rebuilt bridge opened in late 1980.

The photo above was taken late in the evening in the spring of 2005. The low angle light from the sun was able to get in behind the concrete supports and light up the inside of the bridge. The photo below was taken from the Stone Arch Bridge towards the west side of the Mississippi River looking northeast towards the 3rd Avenue Bridge. This is one of the few locations where you can see the entire bridge without obstructions.

These two photos were taken from Water Power Park. This vantage point allows you to get close to the east side of the main channel towards the middle of the 3rd Avenue Bridge. It is a great vantage point to see both the bridge, and the smaller dams located just upstream of the larger main drop. The river is interesting here because there is a sheet of rock just under the water. Despite the high water flow, the river is only inches deep in this area (through the navigation channel is far deeper).

The photo above is a detailed look at one of the arches in the 3rd Avenue Bridge. The bridge arch is interesting because it has a 3rd rib running down the middle, whereas most concrete arch bridges have only two ribs. The photo below is a view of the west half of the bridge.

These two photos are views of the 3rd Avenue Bridge as seen from the West River Parkway. The vantage point is on the west side of the river located near the upstream entrance to the upper lock and dam. The tall buildings in the photo below are condominium projects at River Place and St. Anthony Main.

The photo above was taken just days after the I-35W bridge disaster. It was a rainy Saturday morning, as were most days following the bridge collapse. The vantage point is the Infinite Walkway at the Guthrie Theater. The view is looking northwest. This is one of the few places where one can see the entire bridge with no obstructions in the way.

The photo below is a view of the bridge deck as seen from street level at the north end of the bridge. The bridge offers an excellent view of the city skyline, especially at night.