BNSF Turtle River Bridge (Manvel)

Name	BNSF Turtle River Bridge (Manvel) Great Northern Railway Bridge #13.4
Built By	Great Northern Railway
Currently Owned By	BNSF Railway
Superstructure Contractor	American Bridge Company of New York
Length	246 Feet Total, 64 Foot Largest Span
Width	1 Track
Height Above Ground	10 Feet (Estimated)
Superstructure Design	Deck Plate Girder
Substructure Design	Concrete
Date Built	1908
Traffic Count	2 Trains/Day (Estimated)
Current Status	In Use
Great Northern Railway Bridge Number	13.4
BNSF Railway Bridge Number	13.4
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 (DN) 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.

Located alongside US Highway 81 on the north side of Manvel, this deck plate girder bridge crosses the Turtle River. Built in 1908, the bridge consists of one 36-foot, three 48-foot and one 64-foot deck plate girder spans, set onto concrete substructures. The spans are set onto stone bearing blocks, typical of GN bridges from this era. The Great Northern replaced numerous bridges along the north/south branch lines in Minnesota and North Dakota between 1907 and 1908. Many of these bridges were constructed with girder spans, such as this one. This design of bridge was commonly used by railroads throughout the United States, as it was durable and easy to construct. Overall, the 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.

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

BNSF Turtle River Bridge (Manvel)

Manvel, Grand Forks County, North Dakota