Minnesota Department of Transportation

511 Travel Info

Hwy 63 Bridges over Mississippi River and Hwy 61

Red Wing

Project updates

Preliminary design
Highway 63 bridge over the Mississippi River
Rendering of new Eisenhower Bridge

MnDOT and WisDOT are currently in the preliminary design and environmental review phase, with a recommended alternative of replacing the Highway 63 bridges over the Mississippi River and Highway 61 and realigning the approach roadways in Minnesota and Wisconsin.  The visual quality process is moving forward and detailed visualizations of the two bridges and approach roadways are currently being developed.  Progress is continuing to be made as MnDOT and WisDOT work toward completing the preliminary design and environmental review tasks and look ahead to construction anticipated to begin in late 2017 or 2018.

Background

  • The Eisenhower Bridge is fracture critical, meaning that if one fracture critical member of the bridge were to fail, the entire bridge could collapse.
  • The Hwy 63 Bridge over Hwy 61 is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.
  • Maintaining traffic on the crossing to the maximum extent possible is a key concern.
  • More background information