Mendota Road Bridge

This article is about a bridge near St. Paul, Minnesota. For the bridge over the Minnesota River, see Mendota Bridge.

Mendota Road Bridge
The Mendota Road Bridge as viewed from the Mississippi River side.
Coordinates	44°55′30″N 93°06′43″W
Carries	Two lanes of Water Street
Crosses	The outlet of Pickerel Lake
Locale	St. Paul, Minnesota
ID number	90401
Mendota Road Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Water St. over Pickerel Lake Outlet, St. Paul, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°55′29.4″N 93°6′42.7″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1894
Architect	City of St. Paul Engineer's Office
Architectural style	Stone-arch bridge
MPS	Minnesota Masonry-Arch Highway Bridges MPS
NRHP reference No.	89001825
Added to NRHP	November 06, 1989
Characteristics
Design	Arch bridge
Width	24 feet (7.3 m)
Longest span	10 feet (3.0 m)
History
Opened	1894
Statistics
Daily traffic	500

Mendota Road Bridge is a stone arch bridge that spans the outlet of Pickerel Lake where it meets the Mississippi River just south of downtown St. Paul, Minnesota. It was built in 1894 by the city of St. Paul and was designed by the St. Paul City Engineer's Office.

The bridge is historically significant as an example of a small-scale 19th century stone arch highway bridge. The stone used in the bridge is locally-quarried gray limestone. Ornamentation on the bridge includes protruding keystones at the top of the arch, a slight peak at the top of the arch, and a string course that matches the roadway level. The bridge resembles other stone arch bridges built in Minnesota townships during the late 19th century and early 20th century, but the ornamentation sets it apart. Another facet of historical importance is the fact that the bridge has never been substantially altered during its lifetime, except for a concrete cap replacing the original coping at the top of the railings. The bridge has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places (#89001825) due to its historical integrity.

References

• "Mendota Road Bridge". Minnesota's Historic Bridges. Minnesota Historical Society. 1996. Retrieved 2006-06-07.