BNSF Goose River Bridge (Hillsboro)

Name	BNSF Goose River Bridge (Hillsboro) Great Northern Railway Bridge #63.1
Built By	Great Northern Railway
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	Unknown
Length	182 Feet Total, 70 Foot Largest Span
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	25 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Deck Plate Girder and Concrete Modular Girder
Substructure Design	Concrete and Steel Pile
Date Built	1910, South End Rebuilt 2009
Traffic Count	10 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Great Northern Railway Bridge Number	63.1
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	63.1
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	7/8/2016

In 1881, the The Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway Company (StPM&M) constructed 115 miles of new railroad, extending from Moorhead, Minnesota; through Fargo and Grand Forks, North Dakota, to a point four miles south of Grafton, North Dakota. This line would connect the StpM&M lines at Fargo to the StPM&M mainline at Grand Forks. In 1882, the line would be extended to the Canadian Border near Neche, North Dakota/Gretna, Manitoba; where it would connect with the Canadian Pacific Railway. This additional extension provided the StPM&M with a second International connection, with the original connection completed in 1879 approximately 16 miles east at Noyes, Minnesota/Emerson, North Dakota.

The StPM&M was controlled by James J. Hill, a railroad tycoon who wished to build a railroad network extending from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast. Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, the StPM&M acquired and constructed numerous new railroad lines throughout North Dakota, including numerous parallel lines to connect wheat crops in northern North Dakota to the mills at Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1907, the StPM&M would be sold to another Hill company, the Great Northern Railway (GN). The GN utilized this route as a secondary mainline, and the primary connection between mainlines at Fargo and Grand Forks. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). The International connection would be removed in 1977, and the Glasston to Neche segment abandoned in 1994. In 1996, the BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF leased the Grafton to Glasston segment to Dakota Northern Railroad in 2006. The DN abandoned the line from Glasston to St. Thomas in 2010. BNSF continues to operate the Fargo to Grand Forks segment as the Hillsboro Subdivision, and the Grand Forks to Grafton segment as the Glasston Subdivision. A short segment from Moorhead to Fargo is part of the Propsper Subdivision.

Located alongside County Road 81 north of Hillsboro, this deck plate girder bridge crosses the Goose River. The previous bridge at this location was likely a truss span of some sort. In 1910, the old bridge would be replaced with a three span deck plate girder bridge, set onto concrete substructures. This design of bridge was commonly used by railroads throughout the United States, as it was durable and easy to construct. The south span apparently had loading issues, and a helper bent was added at some point prior to 2008. In 2009, the southern 50-foot span would be shortened to 30 feet, and a modular concrete girder span installed, with a new steel pile pier constructed. Overall, this bridge appears to be in fair to good condition, with no significant deterioration noted. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.

Build Date	Great Northern Valuation Reports; Courtesy of GNRHS Archives
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele

BNSF Goose River Bridge (Hillsboro)

Hillsboro, Traill County, North Dakota