This short 10 mile segment would be critical to the growth of Minnesota.
Eventually, the line would be extended to the west towards Fargo, North Dakota; and to the north towards Duluth, Minnesota.
In 1879, the St. Paul & Pacific was purchased by the St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway.
This railroad began rapid expansions throughout Minnesota and the surrounding areas, and eventually became a part of the Great Northern Railway in 1890.
The railroad used this segment as a critical line, with connections to several other lines. Industries began to pop up along the line, and it began to rival the Northern Pacific, only a few blocks to the north.
Both lines connected with the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, as well as Chicago, Milwaukee St. Paul & Pacific Railroads in Saint Paul, which served as a connection to Chicago.
By 1970, the Great Northern, Northern Pacific and CB&Q merged together to form the Burlington Northern Railroad, a major freight hauler in the midwest.
Throughout the next two decades, many of the yard tracks and industries would be torn down on this segment.
In 1996, the BN merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway, which currently operates the line as the Midway Subdivision.
The line is a complementary line to the St. Paul Subdivision, formerly the Northern Pacific mainline. This line serves more industries and yards, including a massive intermodal yard at Energy Park.
Today, the line also provides a major thoroughfare for oil heading towards Chicago from North Dakota.
06/26/21
This bridge is a notable structure in the Dinkytown campus of the University of Minnesota.
The bridge features two types of spans. The northern spans feature a through girder main span, built by the Omaha Road. The south spans feature a deck girder main span and were built by Great Northern.
All spans feature concrete slab approaches, with steel and concrete substructures.
This bridge is also part of the end of the East Minneapolis Yard, which is a joint Union Pacific and BNSF Yard.
Overall, the bridge is also a structural concern. The bridge has severe corrosion and deterioration of the piers and girders.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview of the southern spans.