A bridge near a Minnesota dam is on the verge of crumbling into the Blue Earth River following a barrage of heavy rain and flooding.

The County Road 9 bridge, a roughly 40-year-old bridge near the Minnesota city of Mankato, may topple over if the weather doesn’t subside to allow proper structural reinforcements to take place. 

Heavy rain and flooding have pummeled the Midwest for days with Blue Earth River’s water levels rising dramatically, testing the structural integrity of the Rapidan Dam.

SECTION OF HOME FALLS INTO RAGING RIVER AFTER MINNESOTA DAM PARTIALLY FAILS, VIDEO SHOWS

The dam has already suffered a partial failure, which resulted in a house along the Blue Earth River near the dam falling into the river, and the dam store nearby being demolished. The Rapidan Dam is located about 14 miles south of Mankato in Southern Minnesota.

"Unfortunately, we’re at the mercy of Mother Nature at this point," Ryan Thilges, the public works director for Blue Earth County told reporters Tuesday. He was flanked by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other officials who went to the dam to get an update on flood conditions and recovery efforts.

Thilges said that the bridge’s piers are piled through sediment and sit atop of sandstone bedrock, and not driven into the bedrock. The gushing water has washed some of the sediment away, putting the bridge’s stability at risk.

"All of the lateral stability for the piling was achieved through the sediment that was in place, that had been impounded in the river basin over the life of the dam," Thilges said. 

"So as we're seeing dramatic levels of river head cutting, as the river's lowering itself down and washing away tremendous amounts of sediment, we're losing stability."

He said the water is flowing too fast to take measurements of the sediment in the river or at the pier. Locals use the bridge to commute across the dam from rural patches of land to nearby towns.

MINNESOTA AMUSEMENT PARK STAYS OPEN WHILE CLOSING POPULAR RIDES AFTER UNPRECEDENTED FLOODING

"Right now, again, we believe it's approximately 50 percent exposed. And as the river level continues to decrease and cut the riverbed elevation down, we're very concerned about the potential for partial or full failure of the bridge," Thilges said. "With that being said, the bridge has been closed since the dam began to overtop Monday morning and we'll continue to keep it closed for public safety."

Officials say they began shoring up the west pier of the County Road 9 bridge last week with loose stones -- known as rip rap -- as an emergency mitigation strategy to avoid further exposure at the base of the pier. The riprap remains in place and the bridge remains closed as officials continue to monitor it for stability.

Walz said he fears the bridge will collapse and will need to be replaced. He gave locals assurances that it would be built back should the worst case scenario come to pass. 

"The one thing I think Minnesotans should be reassured about… we will rebuild. The cost will be shared by all of us," Walz said. "So, the burden will not fall on these county commissioners."

Last week, the governor’s office announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) approved a federal disaster declaration for 22 counties in Minnesota impacted by flooding. State funding provided by the Minnesota Legislature will also be provided to help communities, Fox 9 reports. 

The dam partially failed after heavy rain last week pushed water around the west side of the structure instead of through the gates of the dam.

Construction of the Rapidan Dam was finished in 1910. While it was built to generate electricity, it has been damaged by several rounds of flooding in recent decades. An April 2023 assessment conducted by the National Inventory of Dams found Rapidan to be in poor condition, and officials have been studying the possibility of removing it.

Editor's note: This story has been updated for accuracy.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Harrison Bernstein has long had aspirations of coaching football at the professional level. In 2019 and after more than a decade of work, he got that opportunity. But Bernstein’s passion for coaching had evolved into something else. 

He would sacrifice that dream in order to give back to a community that made the decision to risk the ultimate sacrifice. 

Bernstein is the president and founder of Soldiers to Sidelines, a veteran charity organization whose mission is to provide a renewed sense of purpose to members of the military community through coaching while also serving the youth community. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Bernstein said that the idea for Soldiers to Sidelines came about in 2010 after his time with the Washington Commanders, where he served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for three years. 

"I was coaching high school football and a colleague of mine was adamant about helping out service members in the area get involved in coaching football, because the news was just riddled with people coming back from the Middle East looking for purpose, looking for a way to reconnect and to find some renewed happiness and purpose," Bernstein explained. 

"And so it was actually a colleague who suggested that we bring some of the local veterans out to high school football practice and make them part of the team and teach them how to coach football." 

Bernstein admitted that he wasn’t initially interested in the idea. He was working on perfecting his own coaching technique with the hopes of returning to the NFL. 

"The intent at that moment was for me to go back into the NFL and become this incredible defensive backs coach, right? That's what I thought I wanted to do." 

But after much persistence, Bernstein obliged and held a seminar that just six people attended. To his surprise, Bernstein’s plans for his future had shifted at that moment and Soldiers to Sidelines was born. 

"The inspiration wasn't a flash for me. This was something that evolved within me, and now has become my life's work." 

SOLDIERS IN TRAINING RECEIVE OVER $1M IN COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS FROM US MILITARY AT NFL GAME

"Once I started connecting with the veterans and service members and started to see how much it changed their life, you know, hearing stories – I mean, some stories were really deep where folks were struggling with the ultimate bad decision and to bring them out of that and understand that they had a renewed sense of purpose really affected me. So much so that I gave up a career in coaching football at the highest level to spend all my time doing this." 

Over 1,800 "soldier coaches" have now been certified through the program across eight different sports. Veterans make up 38% of certified coaches, while retired and active duty make up another 25% and 27%. 

The program is free and is available to veterans, service members, military spouses, and gold-star families. After completing the certification process, Soldiers to Sidelines offers continued learning with online coursework, webinars, workshops and more. 

Those who have completed the certification process have gone on to coach at all levels – high school, collegiate, and even the professional level. But for Bernstein, the most impact can be seen in those who coach at the youth level. 

"Our country is suffering a shortage of coaches, and we're also suffering a shortage of quality coaches. Most coaches are volunteer-based, there's no formal training, and unfortunately, many of the civilian coaches are self-serving – they're doing it for personal reasons rather than just investing into the kids. Some are, many aren't. But our soldier coaches, who are used to selfless service, are really pouring into the kids. Our vision is to create an army of 10,000 character-based soldier coaches influencing millions of kids per year."

Another goal of Soldiers to Sidelines is to ensure that the U.S. military remains an "all volunteer force," as Bernstein puts it. 

"The U.S. military is suffering a national security crisis because recruiting is lower than it's ever been, and the propensity to serve is lower than it's ever been. And why that's important is, right now we have the luxury of an all-volunteer force… Soldiers and Sidelines is here to ensure the future of the all-volunteer force. And we can do that by having the most inspirational motivational leaders, our soldier coaches, in the community showing kids that a life of military service is a good thing. And you will also grow as a person, as a leader, you will be fit, you will learn how to problem solve, you will serve your country – so we're bringing those values back." 

Bernstein’s hope is that Soldiers to Sidelines will grow to work with every major sports league, but more importantly, that more will be encouraged to join the program to become soldier coaches and, in turn, impact their communities in a positive way. 

"We're on a path to 10,000 soldier coaches influencing more than a million kids per year. Just think about that impact. It can literally change the fabric of our country." 

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.