Minnesela Bridge

Minnesela Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Nearest city	Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Coordinates	44°38′28″N 103°49′19″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1917
Built by	Concrete Engineering Co.
Architectural style	Vernacular
MPS	Historic Bridges in South Dakota MPS
NRHP reference No.	93001277
Added to NRHP	December 9, 1993

The Minnesela Bridge is a historic bridge located in Butte County, South Dakota. Formally known as South Dakota Department of Transportation Bridge No. 10-114-395, it passes over Redwater Creek about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) southeast of Belle Fourche. It was built in 1917 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 as part of the Historic Bridges in South Dakota Multiple Property Submission. It was one of the earliest concrete bridges constructed in the state. Concrete Engineering Company built multiple concrete bridges in the Rapid City area in the late 1910s, and due to the quality of their construction, many have survived. The bride was built at a cost of $2,588. Its common name is in reference to the nearby site of the ghost town of Minnesela, which sits just a few feet east of the bridge.

Architecture

It is a single-span concrete deck arch bridge measuring 25 by 49 feet (7.6 by 14.9 m) long. Concrete Engineering Company designed it in a vernacular style. The arch is a segmental barrel arch with filled spandrels and recessed panels. It has a balustrade along the bridge and wing walls which "appears as crenelation pierced by semi-circular arches." The guardrails have decorative castellated beams.