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Tom Crann
Minneapolis

Historic and handsome, but could new bridge have been more?

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Bridge buffs are lamenting a lost opportunity in the building of the I-35W bridge. Some, like historian Denis Gardner, say the new bridge was a chance to add something truly distinctive to the Minneapolis riverscape. Instead, Gardner calls the new bridge merely "handsome."

Denis Gardner is the author of "Wood, Concrete, Stone and Steel: Minnesota's Historic Bridges." He joined Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Crann on one of the state's oldest bridges -- the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis -- to talk about the state's newest.

Gallery
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Crosstown Highway
The Crosstown/I-35W interchange is in the middle of a multi-year rehab project. As part of that, all lanes of the Crosstown (Hwy. 62) will be closed this weekend.
MPR photo/Tom Weber
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Gutknecht explains the bridge's design
Kevin Gutknecht from the Department of Transportation points across the river to the other side of the span. The new bridge has a redundant design to prevent the kind of failure that brought the original bridge down.
MPR Photo/Jess Mador