This old bridge carried the mainline traffic for US-12 between the years of 1920 and 1953. It served as a county road for several decades after 1953. Today, she stands closed to vehicle traffic and overgrown with trees and brush.

The old US-12 bridge is a Rainbow Arch bridge. This is a relatively unique bridge style, with the Robert Street Bridge in St. Paul being a more famous example. In a rainbow arch, the arch begins below the bridge deck, then rises above the bridge deck. The center of the arch supports the center of the bridge by lifting the bridge deck with tension rods, while the ends of the arch push up the bridge deck through risers that are in compression. In a more typical arch bridge, the arch is either totally above the deck, or totally below the deck.

The old US-12 bridge is about to get a new lease on life as this is written in the spring of 2008. The Minnesota Headwaters Recreational Trail is being developed during the summer of 2008. It will run between the Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge Auto Tour Route, run north along the Minnesota River, crossing the river twice, and then crossing the river a third time on this bridge. The trail will be 10 foot wide and be paved with asphalt such that it is handicap accessible. As a result, this magnificent old bridge should enjoy a long life catering to the needs of bicyclists, hikers, walkers, rollerbladers, wheelchairs, and any other mode of human powered transportation that can be dreamed up.