The line served as a connection point, with several lines heading west at Northtown, and connections to Chicago at St. Paul.
The railroad became part of the Northern Pacific Railroad in 1896, which had constructed many lines expanding to the west coast.
The railroad continued to serve as a mainline, being double tracked very soon after construction.
By 1970, the NP merged with rival Great Northern, as well as Chicago, Burlington & Quincy to form Burlington Northern.
BN continued to maintain this as a high priority line. By 1996, the BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway to form BNSF Railway.
BNSF continues to operate this line as the St. Paul Subdivision, and is the busiest section of track in Minnesota.
06/26/21
This standard 1970s deck girder bridge crosses over I-35W near Broadway Street.
Built in 1973, this bridge has three large girder spans, set onto concrete piers.
Overall, the bridge appeared to be in good condition. When built, the bridge was built extra wide for an interchange with I-335, a canceled highway in Minneapolis.
The author has ranked this bridge as being minimally significant, due to the common design, and modern age.
The photo above is an overview.