Gov. Doug Burgum sees the preservation of the Bismarck-Mandan Rail Bridge as a project worth pursuing.
In comments Friday to the Tribune Editorial Board, the second-term Republican governor and former downtown Fargo developer said the bridge dating to 1883 would be "an incredible asset for the state, for Burleigh County, for Morton County, for Mandan and for Bismarck to save."
The Friends of the Rail Bridge group wants to stop BNSF Railway from demolishing the bridge spanning the Missouri River to make way for a new structure. The preservation group and railroad signed an agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard in January outlining paths to either keeping or removing the bridge. The Coast Guard decides on projects proposed along that part of the Missouri River.