Hennepin Island Tunnel - Aftermath

Aftermath

The tremendous damage caused by the Hennepin Island tunnel brought lawsuits and demands for political change. A central issue at that time was whether local taxpayers should pay for repairs that would enrich riverfront industrialists. The tunnel collapse was one of the factors leading to the merger of St. Anthony with Minneapolis in 1872. To the relief of the local population, the United States Army Corps of Engineers made the repairs using federal money on the pretext that it was protecting navigation. Seven years after the tunnel collapse, by 1876, the falls were stabilized with an underground dike and low dams that largely are still in place upstream of Stone Arch Bridge. By 1880, the Army Corps of Engineers had covered the face with a sloping concrete apron, creating the artificial falls. The federal government spent $615,000 on this effort, while the two cities (St. Anthony and Minneapolis) spent $334,500.