It is part of the European route E6 highway which passes over the Nidelva river and connects Prinsens street in the Midtbyen area of Trondheim with Elgeseter street in the Elgeseter area of Trondheim in the south.

The Trondheim city council decided on 17 March 1949 that the bridge should be built.

Elgeseter bridge was opened in 1951 after a construction period of 2 years.

The main entryway into Trondheim for hundreds of years has been at Elgeseter; the first bridge here is mentioned in 1178.

Two years after the city was destroyed by fire in 1681, the Old Town Bridge (Norwegian: Gamle Bybro) was built.