“Highway Explorer” comes through again….this time with pics of an old iron bridge in Reads Landing in Wabasha County. This bridge is at the west end of 202nd Street, just north of modern U.S. 61. It is now used as a private entrance.
Although it was once part of the Wabasha Military Road, this bridge was never used by U.S. 61. The old military road passed through Reads Landing on its way to Camp Lacupolis, where it ascended out of the river valley and then followed modern County Roads 10 and 4 towards Lake City. The road was eventually moved to a new alignment that bypassed Reads Landing entirely.
The current alignment of U.S. 61 along the lake wasn’t constructed until 1930.
Looking west towards the gate that now blocks access to the bridge.Looking northwest at the bridge's iron structure.Dedication plaque for the bridge, showing its construction date as 1906.
Today we have another set of photos from “Highway Explorer”, this time of a stretch of old highway in the northeastern corner of Rice County. This road, now labeled on maps as Albany Avenue, was once part of State Highway 165. However, its history goes back a bit further. (See below for a map of the south end of the old alignment).
The first road in this area was the historic Dodd Road, a path blazed between St. Paul and St. Peter in the mid 1850’s. By the early 1920’s, the stretch of Dodd Road  in northeast Rice County had ceased to be an important long-distance route. A 1921 auto trails map doesn’t even show it. Construction records show that the road was graveled (and presumably graded) as a county job in 1924. Construction plans show the road as “State Road 25”, which in today’s terms would be a County State Aid Highway. The road was eventually added to the trunk highway system in 1934 as part of the new State Highway 165, a route connecting Faribault and Lakeville as an alternate to U.S. 65, bypassing Northfield.
What is now Albany Avenue remained in use until 1947, when a new grade was constructed just to the east, leaving it behind as a local road, shown on later construction plans as County Road 98.  The new grade was paved in 1949, and eventually became U.S. 65 in 1956.  In 1964, I-35 was constructed just to the west. The bit of the south end of Albany Avenue was destroyed by the new freeway.
Today, the old highway remains gravel, just as it was back in 1924.  Bridge #3978, a 20 foot concrete slab structure constructed in 1923 by the Department of Highways over Chub Creek, still survives today. The old road also passes by an historic church and through the unincorporated town of Hazelwood. It is now accessible at both ends via Rice County Road 46, which now occupies the old two-lane alignment of U.S. 65.
Looking north down Albany Avenue towards bridge #3978 over Chub Creek. The dedication plaque of bridge 3978. Note how the "M" in Minnesota is upside down!!Looking north at what appears to be the remains of the grade of the historic Dodd Road, just to the east of Albany Avenue off its southern connection to County Road 46. The grade leads to the old crossing of Chub Creek.
The remains of the footings of an earlier bridge over Chub Creek are still visible at the end of the old grade.
Construction dates and info were taken from construction project logs and plans available from MnDOT. The path of the Dodd Road was determined using historic land survey maps from the 1850’s, available here
“Highway Explorer” has found and photographed three long lost sections of U.S. 14 between the towns of Winona and Stockton in southeastern Minnesota, complete with original pavement and retaining walls! These sections were once part of one of Minnesota’s first concrete highways, constructed by Winona County between 1914 and 1915. This early highway was actually only half paved: one lane was made up of a narrow 8 foot wide strip of concrete pavement, while the other was given a standard gravel surface. The old road hugged the bluff line closely and made many dangerous sharp turns above steep wooded cliffs and hills.
The road between Winona and Stockton became part the trunk highway system in 1921 as part of Constitutional Route 7. It later became part of U.S. 14 in 1926 (the two routes were marked together until 1934).  Decorative stone retaining walls were constructed in two locations on the hill in 1921 to improve safety, along with some standard wood guard rails (sections of both stone walls survive today, read on for pictures/ details). The original paved road remained in use until 1932, when the Department of Highways constructed a new grade along the alignment still in use today, which was designed to lessen the severity of the sharpest turns and reduce the steepness of the grade.
The first section we have photos for is just east of the scenic overlook near the top of the Stockton Hill, east of a deep gully on the north side of the highway. (Click here to see a birds eye view of the location, the stone wall is just visible.) The old road is only accessible by foot; blasting of the cliff face just to the east has disconnected the old road from the new highway.
A retaining wall is visible from the modern highway. A closer view of the top of the retaining wall, taken from the old road grade.The old 8-foot wide concrete slab sticks out through the fallen leaves.A last view of the end of the old retaining wall, with the modern highway visible in the background.
The next section is just above, and to the west of the scenic overlook at the top of Stockton Hill. It can be accessed on foot via an entrance on Quarry Hill Road (Rural Route 3), just northeast of the monastery. This surviving section is much longer, extending east into the woods until it ends at a sheer cliff, blasted for construction of the modern highway. (Click here for a birds eye view).
The old grade, stretching off into the woods. A close-up of the old concrete slab.The view of modern U.S. 14 from the end of the old road, now a sheer cliff. The entrance to the scenic overlook is just visible in the lower left corner of the shot.
The third segment was once known as the “Devil’s Elbow”, which was an incredibly sharp turn on the western slope of the Stockton Hill. Click here to see it in bird’s eye view). This was the second location where stone retaining walls were constructed in 1921. This curve was also a favorite of photographers of the time.
An historic photo from sometime in the early 1920's. Looking west, probably just before turning into the "Devil's Elbow". The beginning of the stone retaining wall is visible just ahead. Also note the lone tree on the edge of the cliff.Looking back to the east on the first curve into the "Devil's Elbow". Note the lone tree, which is possibly the same one as seen in the previous photo. You can also see how the road is half concrete and half gravel. Note how the caption says "Trail 7", referring to Constitutional Route 7, the original designation for U.S. 14 in Minnesota.The remains of the decorative retaining wall at the Devil's Elbow, also showing the old concrete pavement. A car passing on modern U.S. 14 is visible on the left. This segment is accessible directly from modern U.S. 14.A postcard showing the "Devil's Elbow" as it appeared between 1921 and 1932. Note the wood guard rails and the stone retaining wall. The same retaining wall as seen on the historic photo today, now crumbling.
Thanks to “Highway Explorer” for these great finds!
