One of the several truss swing bridges over the Red River, this structure connected Grand Forks to East Grand Forks.
Built in 1917, the bridge consisted of a Warren Through Truss swing span with riveted connections.
A 6 panel, pin connected Pratt Through Truss span was built in 1883, and rebuilt in 1917. It is possible that this span was relocated from another location at this time, as similar situations are known for occurring along the Northern Pacific system.
In addition to the main trusses, the bridge featured a deck plate girder span and trestle approaches. The bridge sat on a stone swing pier, and several timber stringer spans.
Unfortunately, the bridge was removed in 2000 after a major flood in 1997. Only a single pier and a plaque remains. The plaque reads:
"Since the 1800s, the Federal Government has required that all bridges over navigable streams make allowance for boat traffic. The center pivot swing span satisfied this rule. Easy to build, it was the most widely used design for railroad bridges in the 1880s. It operated by disengaging the center section from the approaches at either end and rotating it on a turntable. This opened the river channel, allowing boats to pass through. In 1887, the Northern Pacific Railroad built a swing span timber truss bridge here. A howe Through Truss design was used for the 220 foot center swing span and 120 foot eastern approach and a Howe pony truss for the 75 foot western approach. The swing span pivoted on a stone pier 27 feet in diameter. The wooden bridge was refurbished in 1902. It was replaced with a riveted steel bridge in 1917. The steel bridge was also a swing span design. Using the original stone pier to pivot on, it had a 213 foot riveted, 8 panel Warren Through Truss with verticals for the swing span. The approaches were deck plate girder construction on the west and Pratt Through Truss on the east; they were supported by massive wooden piers near the riverbanks which restricted the river's flow during floods. Even after the flood of 1917, there was significant dissension as to a solution for this. Citing the safety of the communities, the Corps of Engineers removed the bridge deck, secondary piers and approaches in 2000."
The author would've ranked this bridge as being regionally significant, due to the unique design and the possibility of relocated parts.
Unfortunately, a better solution to removing the bridge should have been found. Options such as raising the bridge would have been expensive, but preserved an important piece of history.
The photo above are the sole remains.
| Upstream | Oslo Swing Bridge |
| Downstream | Grand Forks Rail Bridge |