Construction along the Stone Arch Bridge flip-flopped with the downtown Minneapolis side of the bridge now closed for construction. 

Brick and mortar needed to be replaced in the bridge with the entire construction process beginning last April. The downtown side will be closed from December through fall 2025. 

Pedestrians and bikers can now walk from the St. Anthony Main side to the center of the bridge and back with through traffic still blocked. 

The bridge, completed in 1883, originally carried the Minneapolis Union Railroad over the Mississippi River just below St. Anthony Falls, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) website. When that railroad closed in 1982, it became a part of the St. Anthony Falls Heritage Trail for the use of pedestrians and bikers. 

The bridge’s construction is funded by both state and federal government, MnDOT spokesperson Jesse Johnson said.

While some people are upset about the closure, it will help the bridge in the long run, Johnson said. 

“I think the point of this is that, yes, we’re closing the bridge for a couple of years, but the work that we’re doing to preserve it should last for 20 years or more,” Johnson said. 

Crooked Pint Ale House, a restaurant close to the downtown Minneapolis bridge side, is feeling the effects since the closure, manager Ron Doffee said. He added business has seemed slower, especially around lunch but admits it could be unrelated to the bridge closing. 

“It is slower than expected for the holiday season, but usually we don’t get a lot of business from (people) walking the bridge,” Doffee said. 

Owamni by The Sioux Chef, an Indigenous restaurant near the downtown Minneapolis side of the bridge and 2022 winner of the James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in the nation, has not noticed a decrease in business, the restaurant’s Director of Operations Tom Peterson said. 

“The bridge closed (on the Minneapolis side) has not affected us as we are usually booked to capacity with reservations,” Peterson said. 

Second-year University of Minnesota student Lukas Perdekamp moved close to the Stone Arch Bridge in September where it has been partially closed the entire time. 

“I think it would be great for it to open because Trader Joe’s is on the other side from where I live and it would make getting groceries easier,” Perdekamp said. 

Perdekamp said he enjoyed going on the bridge when it was open and will use the bridge for bike rides and walks once it is fully open. 

While pedestrians and bikers can not cross the full length of the bridge, detours are available here.