In 1877, the Western Railroad Company of Minnesota built an extension south from Brainerd to Sauk Rapids. This company became a part of the St. Paul & Northern Pacific Railroad after completion.
In 1884, the St. Paul and Northern Pacific Railway Company built from Minneapolis to Sauk Rapids, connecting Moorhead to Minneapolis via Brainerd.
The StP&NP built a cutacross between Little Falls, Minnesota and the Northern Pacific line at Staples. This route reduced miles and provided for a much more efficient trip.
By 1898, the StP&NP became a part of the Northern Pacific. Northern Pacific began making heavy upgrades to this line.
Among the upgrades Northern Pacific began was a double tracking project from Minneapolis to Moorhead. In addition, between Dilworth and Detroit Lakes, a massive regrading project had to be completed to allow for better operations.
Northern Pacific merged with their rival Great Northern in 1970 to form Burlington Northern.
Burlington Northern used this line heavily, before merging with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF.
Under BNSF, this line sees up to 60 trains a day in some places. The line is very commonly known as the Staples Subdivision, between Minneapolis and Moorhead.
In addition, BNSF operates the Carlton to Staples segment as the Brainerd Subdivision, which is an important connection to the Twin Ports.
06/26/21
Located in Hawley, this steel stringer bridge crosses Valley Street just north of US Highway 10.
Originally, the bridge was built in 1906. Two additional tracks were added in 1909, and the original track became a mainline. The bridge originally consisted of a steel stringer span, arranged into two sets of three beams. The bridge sits on concrete substructures.
The mainline tracks were later replaced in approximately 1980, and the remaining track strengthened. The third track now is a siding for industries in Hawley.
Overall, the bridge appears to be in good condition, with some minor spalling on the substructures.
The author has ranked this bridge as being locally significant, due to the common design.
The photo above is an overview.