Louisiana, Missouri Bridge 1873

Winona bridge, Minnesota/Wisconsin 1871.

The Winona and St. Peter Railroad (originally the Transit Railroad Company) was founded in 1862 and planned to run westerly from Winona on the Mississippi River to St. Peter, about 125 miles away, reaching that point in 1871. From there, it reached Watertown, South Dakota, in 1873. In 1867, it was purchased by the Chicago and North Western Railway that was chartered on June 7, 1859, and from Chicago, it reached the Mississippi at a point in Wisconsin east of Winona, Minnesota, in 1873. It continued its route north to St. Paul, connecting with the Northern Pacific Railroad heading for the West Coast at Puget Sound. However, a bridge connecting the two lines, now under the control of the Chicago and North Western Railway, was needed. After a five-year battle, approval was given to build the bridge in accordance with the 1866 federal law prescribing the requirements for a low-level and a high-level bridge as described for the Quincy and other bridges. Section 8 of the July 25, 1866 Act stated,