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Exhibit B of Item 5 <br />Bench Proposal Photo and History <br />41 <br />It <br />�y. 4 .�" 9 .4 -3�. _ i •t SAS ,. .� _ tom. <br />C y } L h { 1. 1• - - -c. <br />History of the <br />Rock Island Swing Bridge <br />"Dog Bone" <br />This huge "Dog Bone" is made from Minnesota limestone salvaged from the Rock <br />Island Swing Bridge which was built in 1895 and spanned the Mississippi river connecting <br />Inver Grove Heights to St. Paul Park. <br />This bridge was one of the few double-decker bridges on the Mississippi, with the top <br />level used for railroad traffic and the bottom level used as a road crossing. It also was one <br />of a few toll bridges in Minnesota, and one of the last remaining ones. It closed to rail <br />traffic in 1980, and road traffic in 1999, when the toll was 75 cents. <br />After closing, the bridge sat dormant in the open position for 10 years before partial <br />demolishment began in 2009. The area is now being turned into a recreational pier and <br />the land around the bridge will be turned into a park scheduled to open in late 2011. <br />