BISMARCK, N.D. — The North Dakota Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments today on a case stemming from a preservation group’s effort to prevent BNSF Railway from demolishing its bridge across the Missouri River between Bismarck and Mandan, N.D., once it completes construction of a new bridge.
The group Friends of the Rail Bridge originally appealed to the court over appeal procedures regarding the granting of two state permits, one that allows BNSF to build its new bridge over the river and one for demolition of the old bridge [see “Fight over BNSF bridge moves to North Dakota Supreme Court,” Trains News Wire, July 14, 2023].
But the Bismarck Tribune reports that the Friends group is also asking the court to consider its argument that the bridge is actually owned by the state rather than the railroad (an argument, available in full here, based in part on the fact that the bridge predates statehood). If that were the case, the state would have a role in determining the bridge’s future.
The Friends group attorney, Bill Delmore, told the Tribune in a statement that, “For years the fundamental question is who owns the bridge, and it needs to be decided in court. Now it will be heard by the highest court in North Dakota.”
The state, however, agrees that BNSF owns the bridge — as has the federal government — and the Tribune reports that Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Verleger argues in court documents that the Friends group is not following the process for challenging the state permits and is attempting a legal maneuver “the court should not reward.” BNSF has called the Friends group argument “legally absurd.”
The preservation group wants to save the bridge to turn it into a pedestrian and biking path, a project estimated to cost almost $7 million in 2019.