The Minneapolis Western built a total of 6.7 miles of track. They operated a second bridge on the south side of the river passing over the tailrace canal near the site of the present day Mill Ruins Park. The exact location is the wood plank section of West River Parkway near Portland Avenue South. This canal bridge served the Minneapolis Mill Company. The bridge was built so light that it could not support the weight of locomotives. As a result, railroad cars were moved over this bridge using cables.
The Great Northern Railroad fully absorbed the Minneapolis Western in 1928. The bridge over the Mississippi River became obsolete by World War 2, and it was demolished in 1952. The only remaining feature of this bridge is the abutment on the north side of the river. The abutment took a pounding in 2007 when the I-35W Bridge collapsed directly onto its stonework. The abutment was later included in a historical survey of the area as part of the construction of the new I-35W Saint Anthony Falls Bridge, with the abutment being carefully preserved during that massive construction project.
The photo above is the bridge abutment for the Minneapolis Western Bridge located on the north side of the Mississippi River. This structure is located directly under the new I-35W Bridge. The bridge started parallel to the bluff, then curved 45 degrees to cross the Mississippi River at an angle. The photo below includes a view of the top of the bridge abutment. The bridge left the pier towards the trees located just beyond the end of the abutment, then it curved to the southwest passing just beyond the north end of the Lower Saint Anthony Falls Lock & Dam, which is visible in the gap between the bridge piers on the left side of the photo.
