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In a state with as many rivers as Minnesota, bridges are a fact of life.  And like many facts of life, they go largely ignored in our daily routine.  That changed last August when one of Minnesota's busiest bridges fell into the river it spanned.  And since then, two other bridges over the Mississippi River have been closed and another, in Hastings, is significantly restricted.

The haste with which governments are moving to replace these bridges is meant to reassure a nervous public.  But a new book -- coming out this week -- argues for more reflection before tearing down Minnesota's oldest bridges.   Denis Gardner's book, "Wood, Concrete, Stone and Steel" goes behind -- and beneath -- more than 200 of Minnesota's historic bridges to tell their stories.  

Gardner talked to Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Crann.

Gallery

Tom Crann

Author

A new book tells the story of more than 200 of historic bridges in Minnesota.  Some still stand, others were replaced.  The I-35W bridge is one of only two in the book that actually collapsed.

The story behind Minnesota's historic bridges

Historic Kern Bridge stands unused near Mankato

From Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel. University of Minnesota Press.

Duluth lift bridge under construction in 1904

Consturction of the Stone Arch Bridge in 1883

From "Wood, Concrete, Stone, and Steel." University of Minnesota Press.

The Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis in 1890

Minnesota's historic bridges: preserve them or replace them?

Go Deeper.

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