A 153-year-old iron bridge that has sat disassembled in shipping containers for more than five years is about to find a new home. Crews in Mankato are scheduled to lift the historic Kern Bridge onto newly built concrete piers spanning the Blue Earth River on Monday, finally giving the rare structure a permanent place between Sibley Park and Land of Memories Park.
According to the City of Mankato, the installation will connect the two parks for the first time, a milestone years in the making for a bridge that has bounced between preservation limbo and budget uncertainty since it was pulled from its original site. City officials scheduled the lift for Monday, arranging a public livestream through local TV station KEYC so residents can watch the placement safely from outside the active work zone, with rigging set to begin around 7 a.m. and placement expected to wrap up by noon, per the Blue Earth County Historical Society's account of the project's timeline.
From a Rural Road Crossing to a National Landmark
The Kern Bridge was built in 1873 by contractor John Mahowald and the Wrought Iron Bridge Company, originally carrying local road traffic over the Le Sueur River in South Bend Township. It served for 117 years before being closed to vehicles in 1990 due to structural deterioration, according to the Blue Earth County Historical Society. The 189-foot span was later listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and is recognized as the longest bowstring arch through-truss bridge in the United States and the only surviving example of its kind in Minnesota, per the Library of Congress.
In February 2020, the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Blue Earth County dismantled the aging structure using heavy cranes to lift it off its failing stone abutments, storing the pieces in shipping containers along Highway 22 in Mankato for more than five years, as reported by MPR News. Mankato later won a competitive MnDOT selection process in January 2021, beating out three other Minnesota communities — Fergus Falls, Sherburne County and Watonwan County — to claim the bridge for its park trail network.
Engineering a Wider Crossing
The original 189-foot truss was never going to be long enough to span the full width of the Blue Earth River on its own, so engineers designed the new crossing with concrete river piers and 583 linear feet of prestressed concrete beam approach extensions, the Mankato Free Press reported in August 2025. Bid specifications called for 14 circular pier foundations along with steel and concrete piling to support the historic ironwork. Municipal engineers also raised the pier foundations to give the 153-year-old truss sufficient vertical clearance to withstand major flooding events along the river, addressing a hazard that has damaged surrounding parkland in the past.
A Price Tag That Quadrupled
The project's cost has climbed steeply since it was first proposed. What started as a $2.5 million estimate in 2020 had grown to more than $10.5 million by the time construction bids opened in September 2025, coming in 15% above engineering estimates, according to the Mankato Free Press. The Mankato City Council formally approved those construction bids in October 2025. Federal transportation funds distributed through MnDOT are covering 80% of eligible relocation and rehabilitation costs, with local municipal funds covering the remaining 20% match, though federal historic bridge grant rules require the city to relist the rehabilitated span on the National Register of Historic Places once work is finished.
What Comes Next for the Trail Network
Once the truss is lowered onto its piers, work will continue toward a fall 2026 completion, when the bridge will feature a new timber deck and ornamental railings as part of the Minnesota River State Trail network, per CNHI. The finished crossing will create the first direct pedestrian and bicycle link between Sibley Park and Land of Memories Park, tying into local bike paths visible from Highway 169. Hoodline previously covered early lane closures tied to site preparation work on Sibley Park Road as construction ramped up.
