In 1904 the original bridge was partially destroyed by a tornado or severe storm and the southernmost five spans had to be rebuilt.

With modest alterations it served for nearly a century, but in 1977 an inspection found irreparable structural deficiencies.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation enacted a weight restriction on the bridge until it was closed in 1984 and demolished in 1985.

[3] The first bridge had been listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981 and was delisted in 1988.

The article included testimony of a survivor who leapt from the bridge.