Shorter tied arch bridge type chosen for Hastings US 61 crossing
The proposed tied arch bridge design will be more in keeping with the scale of the existing bridge and surrounding area.
Photo courtesy of the MN Department of Transportation
A new Hastings bridge won't tower over downtown, after all. On June 30th, the Minnesota Department of Transportation announced that a shorter, "tied arch" style bridge will be built and will be similar in scale to the existing bridge. MnDOT had considered a "cable stay" design that would have risen 35 to 180 feet above the adjacent bluffs, and would have been visible from miles away.
In order to construct the bridge, a portion of the land used by Hudson Manufacturing will need to be taken. Hastings is finalizing plans to relocate the firm elsewhere in the city. The new bridge, however, will also open up a key opportunity to connect the downtown Hastings riverfront with parkland in the Lake Rebecca area just upstream.
Several articles cover the Hastings bridge design and development issues:
- Contract well below budget awarded for Hastings Bridge, in the Star Tribune,
- US 61 bridge budget comes in $81 million less in the Pioneer Press,
- and the Star Tribunes Hastings looks to redevelop prime riverfront.
Background information is also available from the FMR archives.