page_title: Washington Avenue Bridge (Minneapolis)
section_title: The first bridge (1884–1965)
hierarchical_section_title: Washington Avenue Bridge (Minneapolis) / History / The first bridge (1884–1965)
caption_attribution_description: Bohemian Flats below the Washington Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota
context_page_description: The Washington Avenue Bridge carries County Road 122 and the METRO Green Line light rail across the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota and connects the East Bank and West Bank portions of the University of Minnesota campus. The bridge has two decks, with the lower deck designated for motor vehicle traffic and light rail trains and the upper deck used for pedestrians and bicycles. It is a utilitarian structure with simple architecture, but it has cultural significance because thousands of students, faculty, staff, and visitors walk across it every day.
  Most users of the bridge get across it using some mode other than a personal automobile. Mn/DOT traffic counts from 2007 show the bridge carried about 28,400 vehicles per day at that time. However, multiple counts from 2009 indicate the bridge carried a total of 71,400 people per day when other modes were also included. The greatest single mode was still motor vehicles at 37.6%, but 32.7% used bus transit, 19.9% walked, and 9.6% used bicycles, with a remaining 0.3% using other methods such as inline skating.
context_section_description: An iron truss bridge was first built here in 1884, slightly upstream from the current location (connecting Washington Avenue on both sides of the river). At the time of construction, many people lived in the river flats area below, a neighborhood known as Bohemian Flats (See photo below). The bridge was strengthened in 1890 to accommodate streetcars, and it made up part of the first interurban line between Minneapolis and neighboring Saint Paul (see Twin City Rapid Transit). Streetcar service ended in 1954. Construction of the current bridge began in 1962 and the 1884 bridge was torn down in 1965.
caption: Original bridge circa 1885 showing residences on the Bohemian Flats
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