BNSF US-212 Bridge (Old)

Name	BNSF US-212 Bridge (Old) Great Northern Railway Bridge #34.4
Built By	Great Northern Railway
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	American Bridge Company of New York
Substructure Contractor	Unknown
Length	87 Feet Total, 32 Foot Main Span
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	14 Feet 3 Inches
Superstructure Design	Steel Stringer
Substructure Design	Concrete
Date Built	1931
Date Replaced	2015
Traffic Count	0 Trains/Day (Bridge has been Replaced)
Current Status	Replaced by a new bridge
Great Northern Railway Bridge Number	34.4
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	34.4
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	11/21/2017

In 1887, the Willmar and Sioux Falls Railway Company (W&SF) began construction on a new 147 mile railroad line between Willmar, Minnesota and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Construction would be completed by 1888. The following year, the Sioux City and Northern Railroad (SCN) Company began construction on 96 miles of new railroad, starting at Garretson, South Dakota and extending south to Sioux City, Iowa. An additional extension would be made in 1893, when the Sioux Falls, Yankton and South Western Railway Company (SFY&SW) constructed 58 miles of new railroad to Yankton, South Dakota. The SFY&SW would be sold to the W&SF in 1893, and the SCN would be sold to the W&SF in 1900. In 1907, Great Northern Railway (GN) purchased the W&SF. GN built and acquired an extensive railroad network throughout Minnesota.

GN operated this route as a mainline. The Sioux City leg of the route provided an important and competitive connection for stock yards at Sioux City to the Twin Cities. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad. The segment between Yankton and Irene was abandoned in 1981, and the segment between Irene and Sioux Falls was abandoned in 1982. BN was in turn merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF currently operates the Marshall Subdivision over the Willmar to Sioux City segment of this line, and the Corson Subdivision over the Garretson to Sioux Falls segment of this line.

Located on the west side of Granite Falls, this bridge once crossed US Highway 212. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Minnesota Highway Department made significant upgrades to the roadway network throughout Minnesota. In 1931, the Department authorized the realignment of US-212 between Granite Falls and Montevideo, including the construction of this bridge. Built in 1931, the bridge featured one 32-foot and two 27-foot steel stringer spans, set onto concrete substructures. American Bridge Company fabricated the superstructure, and it is unclear if the substructures were built by an unknown contractor or by railroad company forces. Simple beam spans like this were commonly used by railroads throughout the United States, as they were durable and easy to construct. In 2015, the spans of this bridge would be replaced with similar spans. After replacement, the spans were left near 9th Avenue and 14th Streets in Granite Falls, where they still exist as of an October 2024 aerial. It is unknown if these will be reused elsewhere, as they appear to be in fair condition. Typically, railroad companies like to have some bridge spans on hand in case an emergency repair is needed. The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.

Build date	Date stamp
Builder	Missing American Bridge Company plaque
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele

BNSF US-212 Bridge (Old)

Granite Falls, Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota