This bridge is one of the first 15 bridges to cross the Mississippi River. The bridge itself has a swing span on the western side of the crossing, followed by a Parker (humpback) truss, then two Warren trusses. The bridge was rebuilt in 1928. In 1998, the US Coast Guard condemned the bridge as a navigation hazard, and ordered that a lift bridge be put in its place. As of 2007, that work has not yet started.

This bridge is part of a total of 4 bridges that make up the La Crosse railroad crossing. The other three bridges, moving east, are the East Channel Rail Bridge, French Slough Rail Bridge, and the Black River Channel Rail Bridge. These bridges were built the Milwaukee Road, which merged with the Soo Line, which has since been bought out by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The La Crosse rail bridge is one of three places that the Amtrack Empire Builder passenger train crosses the Mississippi River (the other two are Hastings, MN, and Little Falls, MN).

The upper two photos were taken in September, 2007, while the remaining photos were taken in June, 2007. Notice that the trees on the near side of the river have been cut down, resulting in much better sight lines for photographing this old bridge.