September 2023 By: Bennett Kubischta
As we drive east from Glen Ullin to New Salem on the Red Trail we get to the intersection of Morton County Roads 139 and 87. Just ahead of us, as we look to the old bridge across the Big Muddy Creek, we see no visual clue that the underpass in this picture ever existed.
When the Northern Pacific Railway was constructing its railroad in the 1870s and 1880s they were using horses and manual labor to build the grade and lay the track. From New Salem they went southwest following a stream until they got to the Big Muddy Creek and then went northwest along that stream.
When the Red Trail was established in the 1910s the road followed the NP line from New Salem to Almont, to Glen Ullin. In the early 1920s, as road building equipment was improving, the North Dakota State Highway Department rerouted the Red Trail straight between New Salem and Gen Ullin.
Collisions between automobiles and trains were a huge issue across the United States in the early 1920s. To improve safety at these locations the federal government and the ND Highway Department undertook measures to eliminate at-grade crossings and construct separated crossings on the main highways across North Dakota. This underpass, which was completed in 1928, was the last at-grade crossing on US 10 west of Bismarck to be eliminated.
After World War II, advances in earth grading equipment allowed the NP to construct a cut-off route directly between New Salem and Glen Ullin. This reduced the mileage between these towns by 9 miles and decreased the travel time between them considerably. The cut-off was opened to traffic in December 1947. The last train on the Almont loop was the North Coast Limited passenger train on December 1st.
The removal of the underpass and the obliteration of the roadway was done so well that when future generations, such as us, drive through that location we cannot discern what was once there. Goodbye for now. Remember, promoting the Old Red Old Ten promotes our towns, and always take time to talk to the cows.
Bennett Kubischta is the President of the Old Red Old Ten Scenic Byway Committee.