Short Line Bridge

The Short Line Bridge is a truss bridge that spans the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It was originally built in the 1880s and upgraded a few years later by Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad and was designed by American Bridge Company.

The bridge is entirely within Minneapolis but the railroad line crosses into St. Paul less than a half mile to the east. The name "Short Line" comes from the Milwaukee Road's construction of a shorter, more direct connection between St. Paul and Minneapolis. Previously the connection was made via a line that headed southwest along the Mississippi River, north at Mendota and northwest via Fort Snelling to downtown Minneapolis. The "Short Line" was part of a number of construction projects in the 1880s that also included a roundhouse and yard near the present-day junction of Lake Street and Hiawatha Avenue, as well as a line to the west just north of Lake Street.