In the early 1900s, the Yellowstone River was supporting a heavy burden of traffic. Steamboats had all the political power, even as the iron horse was making its way across the United States. At the time, the railroad was a new industry and had yet to claim dominance over the steamboats. Because of this, railroad bridges constructed over navigable channels, like the Yellowstone, were required to include a lift section, ensuring steamboat travel would not be interrupted.

Built by the Montana Eastern Railway, construction began in 1912, of both the Fairview Lift Bridge and its twin, which crosses the Missouri River nine miles to the north. As one would imagine, constructing a lift bridge is no easy task, and required approximately 4.5 million tons of steel. By the time construction was completed in 1913, steamboats were on their way out. In fact, steamboat traffic on the lower Yellowstone River came to a screeching halt towards the end of 1912. It is said that the lift section rose once, merely for testing.

Three hundred feet to the east of the Fairview Lift Bridge is another engineering marvel from the early 20th century. The Cartwright Tunnel was built by the Great Northern Railroad to accommodate the stretching rail lines that were crossing from the plains of North Dakota through the Badlands and westward towards the Rocky Mountains.

Construction began in 1912, with most of the digging done by hand in what was surely a painful and arduous undertaking. The sounds of shovels slicing through the dirt was occasionally drowned out by braying mules which pulled machinery used in the project. Explosions echoed through the air as blasting materials were used to clear out heavy, Badlands rock. On October 2, 1913, the tunnel was completed. Twenty-eight days later, the rails were laid through the tunnel. It continued to be used until 1986, when the last train snaked through the tunnel on its journey east to Watford City.

Today the Fairview Bridge and Cartwright Tunnel serve as relics of westward expansion, dying steamboats and roaring iron horses and offers visitors a chance to travel not only through a dark tunnel and over the historic bridge, but back to the days when the west was still wild.