BNSF 10th Avenue Bridge (Howard Lake)

In 1867, the First Division of The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company constructed 14.70 miles of new railroad between Minneapolis, Minnesota and Lake Junction (Wayzata). Work would continue westward in 1868, with an additional 29 miles constructed to Howard Lake, Minnesota. Work resumed in 1869, with 49 more miles constructed, reaching Willmar, Minnesota. Work resumed in 1870, with 31 more miles constructed to Benson, and an additional 81 miles would be constructed to Breckenridge, Minnesota; located on the western Minnesota border. The railroad would be sold to the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway (StPM&M) in 1879.

During the 1880s, the StPM&M would acquire and construct a large amount of railroad lines throughout Minnesota. Owned by railroad magnate James J. Hill, the railroad would continue to grow into the 1890s, before being sold to the Great Northern Railway (GN) in 1907. The GN, like the StPM&M, was owned by James J. Hill, and the railroad would eventually reach the Pacific Coast at Seattle in 1893. The GN utilized this as a mainline, connecting the railroad town of Willmar to the Twin Cities, and to agricultural markets in Western Minnesota. In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad. BN was in turn merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1996, to form BNSF Railway. BNSF currently operates the Minneapolis to Willmar portion of this line as the Wayzata Subdivision.