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| Name | BNSF Bridge #93.75 Great Northern Railway Bridge #93.7 |
| Built By | Great Northern Railway |
| Currently Owned By | BNSF Railway |
| Length | 32 Feet Total, 16 Foot Spans |
| Width | 1 Track |
| Height Above Ground | 10 Feet (Estimated) |
| Superstructure Design | Concrete Slab |
| Substructure Design | Concrete |
| Date Built | 1927 |
| Traffic Count | 10 Trains/Day (Estimated) |
| Current Status | In Use |
| Great Northern Railway Bridge Number | 93.7 |
| Significance | Minimal Significance |
| Documentation Date | 7/11/2015 |
In 1875, the Red River Valley Railroad Company would construct a new 12 mile line from Crookston, Minnesota to Fisher, Minnesota. In 1879, railroad magnate James J. Hill would gain control of the line, and fund a 12 mile extension to Grand Forks. After the extension was constructed, the railroad was sold to the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway Company (StPM&M). The StPM&M would acquire or build a considerable amount of trackage throughout Minnesota in the coming years. 45 miles of additional railroad were constructed between Crookston and Fosston, Minnesota in 1888. The Eastern Railway Company of Minnesota would construct an additional 99 miles of railroad from Fosston to Deer River, Minnesota. In 1907, the StPM&M and Eastern Railway Company were purchased by Great Northern Railway.
The GN operated this route as a mainline. The line continued west to Seattle and east to the Twin Ports of Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. 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 Grand Forks to Cass Lake segment of this line as the Grand Forks Subdivision.
Located alongside US Highway 2 west of Fisher, this concrete slab bridge crosses an unnamed drainage ditch. Built in 1927 to replace a timber trestle, the bridge features two standard 16-foot concrete slab spans, set onto standard concrete substructures. The spans of the bridge were likely precast offsite at an unknown location, and installed on the substructures. This style of bridge became exceptionally common along railroads throughout the United States, as it was cheap to construct, could be built by company forces, and could be constructed offsite and installed for minimal interruption of traffic. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair to poor condition, with some deterioration noted to the slabs. The author has ranked the bridge as being minimally significant, due to the exceptionally common design.
Citations
| Build Date | Date Stamp |
| Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |