Sorlie Memorial Bridge - Grand Forks, North Dakota
Posted by: machard
N 47° 55.585 W 097° 01.750
14T E 647221 N 5310001
Sorlie Memorial Bridge connects the East end of Demers Ave. in Grand Forks, ND, to East Grand Forks, MN, over the Red River. It is also known as the Red River Bridge, and identified as #99000844 in the National Register of Historic Places.
Waymark Code: WM16DRH
Location: North Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 07/09/2022
Views: 0
Constructed in 1929 by the Minneapolis Bridge Company, the Sorlie Memorial Bridge was named for North Dakota's 14th governor, Arthur G. Sorlie.
Plaques on either end identify Sorlie as "a true friend of better roads and bridges".
According to the multiple property submission (MPS) for Historic Roadway Bridges of North Dakota: (...) the Sorlie Memorial Bridge received national attention for its substructure. Clifford Johnson, bridge engineer for the North Dakota Highway Department, praised the design by his department as "the boldest attempt yet made at resisting or absorbing the bank movement of the Red River with a permanent structure." The unusual feature of the bridge was the end bearing. Four 38-inch wheels resting on a track 7% feet long under the end of each truss allowed for movement of the banks and expansion and contraction of the superstructure of up to two feet. With each movement of two feet, the bridge was designed to be "raised slightly" while the tracks under the wheels were moved back.
The bridge became submerged during the Red River flood of 1997.
County / Borough / Parish: Great Forks
Year listed: 1999
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1925-1949
Historic function: Transportation, road-related
Current function: Transportation, road-related
Privately owned?: no
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]
Street address: Not listed
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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