Plymouth Avenue Bridge
The Plymouth Avenue Bridge is a segmental bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. It was built in 1983 and was designed by VanDoren-Hazard-Stallings. The construction of this bridge was unique, for it was the first segmental concrete girder bridge built in Minnesota. This method of design uses a "form traveler" that shapes the concrete as it is built out from the piers. This avoided the use of falsework and avoided impeding river traffic. The concrete is also engineered to be salt-resistant by the use of post-tensioning. Tubes run through the concrete structure carrying strands of cable. With tension on the cables, the structure is designed to be under compression. This prevents cracks and hinders the intrusion of salt water. Since then, other bridges in Minnesota have used this construction method, including the I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge in Minneapolis, the Wabasha Street Bridge in downtown St. Paul and the Wakota Bridge in South St. Paul.

The original bridge at this location was a wooden Howe truss design, built in 1873. It was built when Minneapolis, then only on the west side of the river, consolidated with the city of St. Anthony, on the east side of the river. As part of the merger, Minneapolis agreed to build two bridges, one upstream of the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and one downstream. That bridge was replaced in 1886 with an iron truss bridge. It was remodeled in 1913 and then raised in 1953 for more clearance. As a result of deterioration over the years, the bridge was closed in 1981 because the floor beams were rusted. The current bridge was constructed two years later.

On Friday, October 22, 2010, the Plymouth Avenue Bridge was closed indefinitely "as a precaution, pending further investigation after a routine inspection discovered corrosion on cables that run through the bridge." The bridge was reopened to foot traffic on Thursday, January 6, 2011, after engineers determined that the bridge was safe for pedestrian and bicycle use. Use by vehicular traffic was not allowed until corroded cables could be replaced, a project that, following several delays, was completed as of August 9, 2013.
Q7446268
segmental bridge
Concept
Q1497
Mississippi River
LOC
Q36091
Minneapolis
LOC
None
VanDoren-Hazard-Stallings
UNK
Q1527
Minnesota
LOC
Q10608382
falsework
UNK
Q465444
post-tensioning
Concept
Q1292302
I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge
LOC
Q7958675
Wabasha Street Bridge
LOC
Q28848
St. Paul
LOC
Q7961207
Wakota Bridge
LOC
Q1003641
South St. Paul
LOC
Q4420898
Howe truss
LOC
Q7030305
St. Anthony
LOC
Q1605373
Hennepin Avenue Bridge
LOC
Q158218
truss bridge
Concept
Q7205764
Plymouth Avenue Bridge
LOC
Q7205764
Plymouth Avenue Bridge
LOC
1983-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1983
DATE
1873-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1873
DATE
1886-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1886
DATE
1913-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1913
DATE
1953-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1953
DATE
1981-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1981
DATE
2010-10-22T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
October 22, 2010
DATE
2011-01-06T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
January 6, 2011
DATE
2013-08-09T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
August 9, 2013
DATE
-35^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-35
NUMBER
crosses
located in the administrative territorial entity
date of official opening
located in or next to body of water
located in the administrative territorial entity
located in the administrative territorial entity