BISMARCK, N.D. — BNSF Railway has blasted a preservation group’s claim that a railroad bridge over the Missouri River belongs to the state of North Dakota, rather than the railroad, as “legally absurd,” asking the U.S. Coast Guard to move forward with the permit process for a replacement bridge.
The Bismarck Tribune reports the railroad cites an act of Congress and North Dakota case law as affirming its ownership of the bridge, portions of which date to 1883. The group Friends of the Rail Bridge seeks to preserve the structure as a pedestrian bridge while the railroad wants to build a new structure to replace one which, because of its age, restricts rail traffic to 25 mph.
The railroad’s letter to the heads of the Coast Guard’s bridge programs and the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation says the claim by the group Friends of the Rail Bridge regarding the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge is “frivolous” and “should be seen for what it is — another effort to delay the project.”
The Friends group made its claim of state ownership in February, saying that ownership of the bridge was originally held by the federal government but transferred to North Dakota upon statehood [see “Preservation group claims …,” Trains News Wire, March 7, 2022]. The state attorney general subsequently declined to address the group’s claim.
The railroad and preservation group entered an agreement with the Coast Guard in 2021 over steps necessary to preserve or replace the bridge. The Coast Guard has jurisdiction because the bridge is over a navigable waterway.
The railroad says the latest claim shows the Friends group has not acted in good faith, and that “the only fair conclusion of the process must be to finalize and execute a Memorandum of Agreement” allowing replacement of the bridge.
In response, the Friends group told the newspaper that BNSF had not provided documentation showing it owns the bridge and that the group was prepared to take the matter to court.
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