The Camden Bridge connects 37th Avenue NE in northcentral Minneapolis to 42nd Avenue N in northwest Minneapolis. The city blocks are different sizes on each side of the river, resulting in 37th Ave on the east side of the river being about one-half of a mile north of 42nd Avenue on the west side of the river. A second result is that the bridge runs at an angle to help these two streets join at the river crossing.

The Camden Bridge also connects two sections of the city parkway system. The west side of the city has Theodore Wirth Parkway, Victory Memorial Parkway, and Webber Parkway. The central and east side has St. Anthony Parkway, the East and West River Parkways, and the soon to be built Granary Road. These two parkway systems are connected on the north end of Minneapolis by the Camden Bridge as part of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway.

The Camden Bridge was built in the late 1970s, and opened in July of 1977. It is a steel plate girder bridge. That is, the main beams are made of steel. But rather than being steel I-beams, the breams were manufactured by cutting large steel plates to size, then welding on upper and lower webs to make a custom-built girder. The major reason for using a plate girder for a beam is that you can make the beam thicker near the piers and thinner at mid-span, which saves materials and allows the bridge to be lighter. Steel is the preferred materials when long spans are required. The 1977 bridge replaced a 4 section steel truss bridge built in 1913.

The west end of the bridge is a little bit of a roller coaster. The bridge has to clear a railroad track between the river and I-94. The railroad track itself is elevated, and crosses a side street near the bridge. This configuration can be seen in a photo below. From the high point, the bridge has to connect to Lyndale Ave immediately west of I-94. I-94 runs in a trench, and Lyndale is the same elevation as the side street on the east side of the freeway. That means in the space of the width of the I-94 Interstate highway, the bridge has to descend from it high point down to street level.

The photo above is a view from the east end of the bridge. The photo below is a view from the boat landing just downriver of the Camden Bridge. The boat landing has a fishing pier extending into the river, which makes the photo appear to be taken from mid-river. Note the distinctive decorative ridges on the steel.

The photo above is a view of the top deck of the bridge looking west. Note the metal curbing used to project the sidewalks. This type of guardrail is unique as far as any other bridges over the Mississippi River are built. The photo below is another view from the boat ramp just down river. In this view, the river water is high and has totally flooded the boat ramp.

The photo above shows the reason for the second hump in the bridge. The bridge crosses over the Canadian Pacific Railroad mainline, which itself is located on a bridge over Soo Line Avenue, the access road to the regional park and boat landing.

The photo below is the first of seven views showing a crossing from east to west on the Camden Bridge. In this first photo, we see that 37th Avenue NE makes a curve just before the bridge. St. Anthony Parkway intersects 37th Avenue just to the left of the photo. Also visible is a sign for the Grand Rounds Byway, which crosses the Camden Bridge.

The photo above is a view of entering the bridge from the east end. In the photo below, we are traveling west towards the peak of the first hump in the bridge. This hump is the main span crossing the Mississippi River.

In the photo above, we are at the peak of the hump at mid-channel of the main span crossing the Mississippi River. We are now headed down hill to the swale in the bridge. In the photo below, we are at the bottom of the swale, and are headed up the second hump in the bridge. Notice the gap in the railing and the walkway exiting the bridge in mid-span.

In the photo above, we are at the peak of the second hump in the bridge. This hump travels over the Canadian Pacific Railroad mainline. The Canadian Pacific has a major yard located just west of the bridge.

In the photo below, we are approaching the end of the bridge on the west side of I-94 at Lyndale Avenue. The bridge has a very steep slope on the west end. The reason is that the road has to be high enough to pass over the railroad tracks, yet has to drop down to connect to Lyndale Ave, and make that change in elevation is a space that is exactly as wide as the I-94 Interstate Highway.

The photo above is a view of the Camden Bridge taken from the edge of the west bank of the Mississippi River. The photo below is a detail view of the underside of the bridge.

The photo above shows the sidewalk and steps that connect the mid-span exit on the downriver side of the bridge to the North Mississippi Regional Park. The photo below shows the bicycle path that connects to the mid-span exit on the upriver side of the bridge.

These two photos are views of the span over the North Mississippi Regional Park. The photo above is a profile view that shows where the bicycle ramp is located. The photo below shows the piers and the metal work under the bridge.

These two photos show the span over the Canadian Pacific Railroad and Interstate highway I-94. The photo above shows the railroad track and the curve in the bridge. The photo below shows the spans that carry traffic over the Interstate highway. Note that the railroad also crosses I-94. The end of the bridge is visible in the photo above, while the side of the bridge is visible in the photo below.