Sorlie Memorial Bridge - Grand Forks, ND
Posted by: 
m&m O
N 47° 55.585 W 097° 01.754
14T E 647216 N 5310001
Truss bridge crossing the Red River, connecting Minnesota and North Dakota.
Waymark Code: WM142J1
Location: North Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 04/01/2021
Views: 3
This Through Parker through truss bridge was built in 1929 by the Minneapolis Bridge Co. for vehicular use. According to the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation the bridge was a joint project of Minnesota and North Dakota and was named as a memorial to North Dakota Governor Arthur Gustav Sorlie. Each of the two main spans is a steel, riveted, Parker through truss. At 283 feet long, the spans are the longest riveted Parker through truss spans in the state. To accommodate the unstable condition of the river banks, the structure design incorporates very large roller bearings that originally allowed the abutments to slide beneath the superstructure (up to 10 feet) without damaging the bridge. When built, the bridge had additional importance as the only vehicular river crossing in the immediate area, and as the route of transcontinental U.S. Highway 2.
The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
On the south side of the North Dakota section is a plaque that reads:
SORLIE
MEMORIAL BRIDGE
- A.D. 1929 -
ARTHUR GUSTAV SORLIE
APRIL 26. 1874 AUGUST 28, 1928
GOVERNOR OF NORTH DAKOTA AND
CHAIRMAN OF THE THE STATE HIGHWAY
COMMISSION FROM JANUARY 1925 UNTIL
HIS DEATH. RESIDENT OF GRAND FORKS
SINCE 1903. MEMBER OF THE CITY
COUNCIL FROM 1909 TO 1914.
A TRUE FRIEND OF
BETTER ROADS AND BRIDGES
Parking Coordinates:: N 47° 55.575 W 097° 01.779
Date Built: 01/01/1929
Length of Span:
603 ft.
www:
https://www.dot.state.mn.us/historicbridges/4700.html
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Visit Instructions:
Log your find with a picture of the bridge with yourself or your GPS in the foreground. This shot does not have to be taken "on" the bridge. The shot should show the "truss" structure of the bridge as well.