• Structure ID: NBI 4260. • Location: River Mile 725.5. • River Elevation: 646 Feet. • Highway: Old Duke Road. • Daily Traffic Count: Unknown. • Bridge Type: Concrete Arch, Concrete Deck. • Length: 1,229 Feet Overall, 72 Foot Longest Span. • Width: 22 Feet, 2 Lanes. • Navigation Channel Width: 36 Feet. • Height Above Water: 32 Feet. • Date Built: Opened December 1917, Rebuilt 1947 And 2004.
The original bridge at this location was an 1887 wooden bridge. That bridge connected Latsch Island to Wisconsin, serving the village of East Winona. The High Bridge was opened in 1892, and the wooden bridge became part of the overall river crossing.
By 1917, the old wooden bridge needed to be replaced. This concrete arch bridge that we see in these photographs was built to replace the wooden bridge. The Wisconsin end of the bridge remains much like it was when new. The Minnesota bridge ended about 20 feet off of the ground, where it connected with the trestle part of the High Bridge.
In 1942, the new Main Channel Bridge opened. The old concrete bridge would not work for the new bridge since the concrete bridge and the High Bridge formed a 90-degree turn, and highway engineers very much wanted to eliminate that right angle turn. As a result, a new North Channel Bridge was built. The High Bridge was salvaged because steel was in high demand for the war effort. But workers were in short supply, so the concrete bridge was not torn down.
After the war, in 1947, the Minnesota end of the concrete bridge was modified so the entrance formed a ramp. This eliminated the mid-air dead end, and allowed traffic to access Aghaming Park. The bridge was more or less forgotten to all but the local houseboat residents. The bridge deteriorated until it had to be closed to traffic in 1996.
The City Of Winona once again considered removing the old concrete bridge. But citizen involvement saved the bridge, and funds were raised to fix up the structure. The newly repaired John A. Latsch Wagon Bridge reopened to vehicles in 2004.
Cache is a larger small with log and pencil, plenty of room for small trade items.
Several caches have been placed in this area throughout the years, hopefully this one will last a little longer.
While GZ is not "exactly" near the bridge, a view of it and Winona's "floating" homes can be seen nearby.
Retrieval isn't too bad if you use the correct route. (Shortest isn't always easiest.)
Place replace as found and be careful.