Historic Bridge Management Plans

Minnesota Department of Transportation – Statewide, Minnesota

Mead & Hunt directed a statewide effort to develop management plans for 22 historic bridges owned by Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) and prepare a general statewide management plan for more than 200 historic bridges owned by other parties.  Mn/DOT selected state-owned bridges for preservation in cooperation with the State Historic Preservation Office and Federal Highway Administration and committed to finding solutions for their continued use.  The overall project objective was to preserve the structural and historic integrity and serviceability of the selected bridges following the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties (Secretary Standards).

Mead & Hunt led the completion of the statewide management plan, which offers a single-source tool to help bridge owners make management and preservation decisions related to historic bridges.  The plan features an innovative collaborative process that pairs an engineer with an historian to develop rehabilitation recommendations that comply with the Secretary’s Standards.  In Mn/DOT’s view, the collaborative approach streamlines the planning process through ongoing engineer/historian dialogue.

Mn/DOT will use the plan to encourage owners of historic bridges to commit to their long-term preservation and offer guidance.  The plan has received awards from the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota.

Click here to view the Management Plan for Historic Bridges in Minnesota.

Read more about the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota award at www.mnpreservation.org/programs/minnesota-preservation-awards/2006-minnesota-preservation-awards and ACEC/MN Engineering Excellence Award at www.acecmn.org.

Click here to view the Historic Bridges: Evaluation, Preservation, and Management – Managing Historic Bridges in Minnesota: The Historian and the Engineer Collaborate.