The Sorlie Memorial Bridge, also known as the Red River Bridge, was constructed in 1929 by the Minneapolis Bridge Company to connect the cities of

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

and

East Grand Forks, Minnesota East Grand Forks (also known as EGF) is a city in Polk County, Minnesota, Polk County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 9,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it Polk County's largest community. It is in the Red ...

. It was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1999. The Sorlie Memorial Bridge replaced a

swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that can be rotated horizontally around a vertical axis. It has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravit ...

on the same site that was built in 1889. It is a Parker through truss bridge with two truss spans and rides on rails to accommodate the ever-changing banks of the

Red River of the North The Red River (), also called the Red River of the North () to differentiate it from the Red River of the South, Red River in the south of the continent, is a river in the north-central United States and central Canada. Originating at the confl ...

. The Sorlie Memorial Bridge was named for

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

's 14th governor, Arthur G. Sorlie. Plaques on either end identify Sorlie as "a true friend of better roads and bridges." At the time, the bridge was the only vehicular crossing in the area, and was important for carrying

U.S. Route 2 U.S. Route 2 or U.S. Highway 2 (US 2) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway spanning across the northern continental United States. US 2 consists of two segments connected ...

, a transcontinental route. It is the oldest documented Parker truss design in the state, and its two spans of are the longest riveted Parker through trusses in the state. and

References

External links

Web Camera showing live view of Sorlie Memorial Bridge
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in North Dakota Transportation in Grand Forks County, North Dakota Bridges completed in 1929 Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota Monuments and memorials in North Dakota Monuments and memorials in Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Polk County, Minnesota National Register of Historic Places in Grand Forks, North Dakota U.S. Route 2 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Parker truss bridges in the United States 1929 establishments in Minnesota 1929 establishments in North Dakota Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States {{Minnesota-bridge-struct-stub

Further reading

See also

References

External links