Bridge to Minneapolis Veterans Home reopens

By Tim Engstrom
Minnesota Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Larry Herke snips the ribbon on the 627-foot bridge over Minnehaha Creek outside the Minneapolis Veterans Home on Jan. 9, 2020. Though popular among cyclists and pedestrians, it is the only bridge open to automobiles downstream from Minnehaha Falls. The bridge originally was built by the Minneapolis Park Board in 1908 and these days belongs to the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs. Former American Legion Department of Minnesota Commander Peggy Moon is in a red Legion cap a little right of center. In the white Legion cap a bit farther right is District 4 and 5 Vice Commander Teresa Ash. State lawmakers with the Minneapolis Veterans Home in their districts stand next to Herke. They are Sen. Patricia Torres Ray on the right and Rep. Jim Davnie on the left.

MINNEAPOLIS — The historic truss bridge spanning Minnehaha Creek from Minnehaha Park to the Minneapolis Veterans Home reopened on Tuesday, Feb. 27.

The bridge underwent routine annual inspections and repairs and had to be closed to motor-vehicle traffic.

The bridge was built in 1908 and is recognized as being historically significant and was added to the National Register of Historic Places and Structures in 1989. A major repair project was last completed in 2019 and the Veterans Home celebrated the reopening of the bridge in January 2020.