ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA SELBY AVENUE BRIDGE MICHAEL MERCIL
 
I was hired to design the detailing of the Selby Avenue Bridge (1992-1993) when City of Saint Paul engineers expressed their desire to replace the 100 year old Shortline Railroad overpass, “with something more than a bump in the road.” The materials of the old overpass were steel, stone and wood. The 1,100 foot span of the new bridge is built of steel and concrete, with railing and surface treatments that link it to the structure and ornament of the former overpass. The rusticated pattern in the concrete abutments is similar in dimension to the cut limestone blocks of the original structure. Where the deck begins, the new steel railings double in scale and open up to embrace the surrounding cityscape. Beneath the deck, a thirty-inch tall band of Saint Paul railway names suggests the rhythmic speed of passing trains and wraps the Selby Avenue Bridge with an unbroken ribbon of local history. Design engineer: Eriks Ludens, City of St. Paul. Department of Public Works. Related articles and writings Mercil, Michael. "A New Life for the Shortline Bridge." Places: A Quarterly Journal of Environmental Design. Vol. 8, No. 4, (Summer 1993) MIT Press. pp. 91-93. New Millennium Report. Public Art Saint Paul. St. Paul, MN. 2001. p. 9. ARTWORK