BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A portion of an historic bridge set for demolition in a project to expand U.S. Highway 85 has been adopted by a North Dakota man who plans to move the span hundreds of miles to preserve the architecture.
The Long X Bridge near Watford City is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, The Bismarck Tribune reported. The North Dakota Department of Transportation selected Paul Silbernagal’s proposal to reassemble around 250 feet (75 meters) of the bridge almost 250 miles (400 kilometers) away on his ranch near Linton.
“I’m just glad that we can be preserving part of it,” Silbernagel said.
The Long X Bridge, built in 1959, is one of four remaining instances of a Warren through truss bridge in the state of North Dakota, according to an environmental study.
The department will pay for the disassembly, loading and up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) of trucking. Silbernagel will be responsible for assembling and maintaining the bridge.
The agency plans to start working on a new four-lane bridge to intersect the Little Missouri River south of Watford City this spring or summer. It recently announced the completion of the final environmental impact statement for the planned extension of Highway 85 from Interstate 94 to south of Watford City.
A four-lane highway is necessary to improve safety due to increased oil traffic, supporters said. But conservation groups have expressed concerns about the expansion’s effects on the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park and a sensitive 7-mile (11-kilometer) stretch through the Badlands.
Matt Linneman, project manager, said the only portion of the 62-mile (100-kilometer) project that has funding is replacing the Long X Bridge and about 1 ½ miles (2.4 kilometers) of associated roadways.
Drivers will continue to use the Long X until constructed of the new bridge is finished, which is expected to be in 2020, Linneman said.
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Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com
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