BNSF Elm River Bridge (Grandin)

Name	BNSF Elm River Bridge (Grandin) Great Northern Railway Bridge #51.1
Built By	Great Northern Railway
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	American Bridge Company of New York
Length	260 Feet Total, 80 Foot Largest Span
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	20 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Deck Plate Girder and Concrete Modular Girder
Substructure Design	Concrete and Steel Pile
Date Built	1950 Using Spans Fabricated 1948; South Approach Rebuilt c. 2005
Traffic Count	10 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Great Northern Railway Bridge Number	51.1
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	51.1
Significance	Local Significance
Documentation Date	8/10/2020

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 Grandin, this deck plate girder bridge crosses the Elm River. The previous bridge at this location was likely a girder span with trestle approaches. In 1948, it was decided to replace this bridge. In response, an 80-foot, two 60-foot and one 42-foot deck plate girder spans were fabricated by American Bridge Company, and installed at this location in 1950. At this time, new concrete substructures were constructed, and a single timber pile trestle span approached the bridge on the south end. This design of bridge was commonly used by railroads throughout the United States, as it was durable and easy to construct. In approximately 2005, the 42-foot span and trestle approach would be replaced by two modular concrete girder spans, set onto steel pile substructures. 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 and newer age.

Builder and build date	American Bridge Company plaque
Railroad History Citation	ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele

BNSF Elm River Bridge (Grandin)

Grandin, Traill County, North Dakota