Baudette–Rainy River International Bridge

Baudette – Rainy River International Bridge
International Bridge seen from the Canadian side
Crosses	Rainy River
Locale	Rainy River, Ontario
Owner	Ontario and Minnesota
Characteristics
Design	steel truss
Material	steel
Total length	391 metres (1,283 ft)
Width	7.3 metres (24 ft)
Number of spans	6
Clearance above	4.5 metres (15 ft) (above road deck)
Clearance below	Rainy River
History
Constructed by	Barnett-McQueen Ltd
Construction begin	1958
Construction end	1960
Opened	July 30,1960
Statistics
Toll	1960-1988

The Baudette – Rainy River International Bridge is an international bridge connecting Rainy River, Ontario, Canada, with Baudette, Minnesota, United States, across the Rainy River.

The bridge marks the western terminus of Ontario Highway 11 (as Atwood Avenue) and the northern terminus of Minnesota State Highway 72 (International Drive). The bridge is owned by Ontario and Minnesota, and is managed by MTO (with funding from the Government of Canada) and MnDOT, respectively.^[1] The bridge carries 2 lanes of traffic and a 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) sidewalk for pedestrian traffic.^[2] Customs plazas are located on both side of the bridge.

Downriver from the bridge is Baudette-Rainy River Rail Bridge, built in 1901 for Ontario and Rainy River Railway and now used by CN Rail.

Replacement

Plans for a replacement bridge is under way and construction is planned to begin around 2018.^[3] The new bridge, an I-beam girder, will be built about 1 metre (3.3 ft) downstream so the current structure can continue to be utilized during the construction period.

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2011-09-10.
2. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d2/projects/baudette-bridge/pdfs/public-meeting-3/pic_brd-5_background.pdf
3. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/d2/projects/baudette-bridge/index.html

The Rainy River Record

Coordinates: 48°43′9″N 94°35′25″W / 48.71917°N 94.59028°W