One of a number of bridges built in the Twin Cities in the 1880's as the railroad boom swept through the area. The bridge was originally built with 5 truss sections. In 1927, it was converted into 9 plate girder sections. In 1963, to accommodate river traffic, the entire bridge was raised several feet, and two of the plate girder sections were replaced with a single large truss section. When built, this bridge was part of the mainline for the Northern Pacific, and saw enough traffic to warrant a double track bridge. The bridge has been owned by the Burlington Northern since 1971, now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, where it is a low traffic spur route.

The City of Minneapolis master plan for developing the east and west river parkways shows this rail line being abandoned, and the bridge being converted into a pedestrian and bicycle path. It would be part of the Bottineau Trail, which is planned to eventually cross the state following abandoned railroad right-of-way.