Want To Buy A Bridge? A Minnesota County Is Selling One For A Dollar

Attention bargain shoppers! There's a bridge for sale right now in Minnesota, and the sticker price is like something you'd see at a garage sale. There is a catch, however.

First, what would someone do with a bridge? I'm not talking about a pedestrian bridge, or even a snowmobile bridge. This bridge for sale is a full-on, nearly 200-foot road bridge that is capable of carrying vehicle traffic.

That said, it probably isn't something you'll just put across a stream on your back-40. While it might not be for just anyone, there's bound to be a buyer for this bargain bridge.

Where is this bridge?

The bridge that's for sale is called the "Gold Mine Bridge", which is what is called a "Parker through truss" style bridge, located in Delhi Township in Redwood County, which is in Southwestern Minnesota, northwest of Redwood Falls.

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The name "Gold Mine Bridge" comes from the nearby Gold Mine Lake Road, which is just south of the bridge.

The 191-foot bridge was built in 1903 to carry traffic over the Minnesota River on County Road 17.

MNDOT says the bridge is of historical value, as it stands "as an excellent example" of the style of bridge designed and built by Minnesota builder Lawrence Henry Johnson. The style and design is rare, a part of what makes this historic 123-year-old bridge eligible for designation in the National Register of Historic Places.

Why is the bridge for sale?

As the bridge continues to age, it has become incapable of carrying the weight of automotive traffic.

Weight restrictions were put on traffic in 2021, and it was completely closed to all vehicle traffic in the spring of 2023 after structural weakness was discovered.

While the bridge was deemed too expensive and impractical to repair for vehicular traffic, Redwood County officials see the historical bridge being repurposed for something like bicycle traffic or multipurpose (pedestrian, bicycle, etc.) traffic in a park or similar place.

What's the catch to buying this $1 bridge?

While someone (most likely a municipality and probably not an individual) can buy this bridge for just a dollar, the buyer is also responsible for all of the other associated costs.

Those other costs include repairs to the bridge, moving it, and installing it in the bridge's new home.

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That, as you can imagine, is not going to be very cheap.

If you have a location in mind and access to the heavy equipment and staff necessary to do the work, Redwood County will be accepting letters of interest from anyone wanting to buy the bridge until December 1, 2026.

The clock is ticking!