Name | BNSF Crow River Bridge Great Northern Railway Bridge #23.3 |
Built By | Great Northern Railway |
Currently Owned By | BNSF Railway |
Superstructure Contractor | American Bridge Company of New York Unknown |
Length | 361 Feet Total, 150 Foot Main Span |
Width | 1 Track |
Height Above Ground | 20 Feet (Estimated) |
Superstructure Design | Warren through truss, deck plate girder and concrete slab |
Substructure Design | Concrete |
Date Built | 1913, truss added 1924 |
Traffic Count | 1 Train/Week (Estimated) |
Current Status | Open to Traffic |
Great Northern Railway Bridge Number | 23.3 |
BNSF Railway Bridge Number | 23.3 |
Significance | Moderate Significance |
Documentation Date | 11/23/2011; 2/24/2015 |
In 1882, the Minneapolis and Northwestern Railroad (M&NW) constructed a 63 mile long railroad between Minneapolis and St. Cloud, Minnesota, passing through Monticello and Clearwater. The M&NW was purchased by the The Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway (StPM&M) in 1883. The StPM&M was leased to the Great Northern Railway (GN) in 1890, and sold to the GN in 1907. The railroad was controlled by railroad magnate James J. Hill. The route became a secondary mainline between Minneapolis and St. Cloud.
In 1970, GN merged with rival Northern Pacific Railway and Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad to form Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). As Northern Pacific had a parallel route across the Mississippi River, this line fell out of favor and the segment between Monticello and St. Cloud would be abandoned. In 1996, BN merged with Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to form BNSF Railway, which currently operates the remaining segment between Minneapolis and Monticello as the Monticello Subdivision.
Located upstream of I-94 between Rogers and St. Micheal, this large truss bridge carries the BNSF Monticello Spur across the Crow River. The first bridge here was likely a wooden truss. That bridge was replaced by a pin-connected Pratt through truss in 1899, with four deck plate girder approaches, one on the west end and three on the east end. In 1913, the bridge was rebuilt with concrete slab approaches, and the truss was replaced by a 6-panel, riveted Warren through truss in 1924. Today, the bridge consists of, from west to east: two 16-foot concrete slabs, a 36-foot deck plate girder, a 150-foot through truss, three 36-foot deck plate girders and two 16-foot concrete slabs. The entire bridge rests on concrete substructures.
Railroads often rebuilt bridges at different times, reusing components from the previous bridge. It is believed that the deck plate girders are still the spans installed here in 1899, but conflicting information was located. Overall, the bridge appears to be in fair condition, with some deterioration noted throughout the structure. The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the truss design.
Citations
Build Date | Great Northern Willmar Division Bridge Index, located at the Minnesota Historical Society |
Contractor | Missing American Bridge Company plaque |
Railroad History Citation | ICC Valuation Information, Compiled by Richard S. Steele |