The cost is approximately $234 million and the bridge opened to traffic September 18, 2008, more than three months early.

Flatiron has experience working in harsh winter climates and extreme weather situations. In developing the proposal, Flatiron-Manson accounted for weather in the timeline. There are several cold-weather accommodations built into the daily construction activities, including those that ensure materials and workers stay warm. Even with extreme cold and snow in November and December, construction crews have managed the winter weather conditions and are ahead of schedule.

There are two concrete bridges that span the river-one for each direction of traffic, with an 8 foot 8 inch space between them. Each side will have five lanes, for a total of ten lanes of traffic. The combined bridge width will be 189 feet. The previous bridge had 8 lanes of traffic and was about 80 feet narrower.

The new bridge is Light Rail Transit-ready. The design includes 14 foot wide shoulder lanes that allow for future development, including possibly adding light rail, dedicated bus lanes, or additional lanes of traffic.

Following the primary theme of "Arches, Water, Reflection," it is a signature bridge, including lighting and landscaping that will paint a modern archway over the Mississippi and respect the area's surroundings, history, and nearby architecture.

It is a white concrete bridge. The retaining walls at the bridge's abutment with the land are made of native stone. The curved supports frame the Mississippi River below.

More about the features of the new bridge and how community input was used for selecting them.

There are a number of benefits to concrete. First, the high performance concrete being used for the St. Anthony Falls (I-35W) Bridge provides superior durability and contributes to the multiple levels of structural redundancy. Concrete also has lower maintenance costs than other materials, which will add up over the bridge's expected lifespan of a century.

The St. Anthony Falls (I-35W) Bridge was built using the design-build process. It is a type of project delivery process in which teams propose design and construction approaches that will operate simultaneously, reducing the project delivery time by overlapping the design and construction phases. Construction can begin before all aspects of the final design are completed. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) has been using this process since 1996.

This streamlined design and construction process accelerates the schedule by improving communication between designers and construction contractors throughout the process.

Mn/DOT worked with the Flatiron-Manson Joint Venture and FIGG Bridge Engineers to build the new I-35W Bridge.

Flatiron Constructors is one of the largest bridge builders in North America and is headquartered in Longmont, Colorado. Flatiron gained national recognition for its award-winning and technically challenging bridge and highway projects along Colorado's I-70 through the Rocky Mountains.

Manson Construction specializes in the construction of foundations, bridges, piers and other marine facilities throughout the United States, and is based in Seattle.

FIGG is a leading bridge designer and has its corporate headquarters in Tallahassee. It has earned 290 design awards and completed bridges in 38 states-including St. Paul's Wabasha Freedom Bridge here in Minnesota.