BNSF opens long-delayed Bismarck bridge

BISMARCK, N.D. — After three years of construction preceded by years of legal delays, BNSF Railway has opened its new Bismarck-Mandan bridge over the Missouri River.

BNSF, on a website devoted to the project, reports the first train crossed the bridge on Sept. 16 at 6:51 a.m. That followed a 20-hour cutover project in which track was realigned at both ends of the double-track bridge. Work will now begin to remove the single-track bridge dating to 1883. That will involve cutting up the current truss bridge, which will take place through the fall and winter. The complete demolition process is expected to extend into mid-2027.

BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth told the Bismarck Tribune that the bridge “is incredibly important for our ability to continue serving our customers in North Dakota and across our network. It is a massive private infrastructure project that facilitates interstate commerce and is the biggest project we’ll have in the state for several years.”

Bridge construction began in June 2023, following more than seven years of efforts by a local group that wanted to preserve the 1883 structure for use as a pedestrian and biking bridge. The group Friends of the Bridge was unable to find funding for the preservation effort estimated to cost $50 million to $90 million [see “BNSF seeks end …,” Trains.com, May 3, 2021]. It mounted a series of legal challenges to prevent replacement of the structure, including a claim that the state, rather than the railroad, owned the bridge. The state Supreme Court ultimately dismissed the last of those efforts in 2024 [see “North Dakota Supreme Court upholds …,” Trains.com, Feb. 8, 2024].

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