U.S. Highway 10 was the primary highway through North Dakota until the completion of Interstate 94 in 1965. The highway included the Liberty Memorial Bridge, which was the region’s only vehicular bridge to cross the Missouri River between 1922-1965. Most of the former Highway 10 was originally State Highway 3 and is now part of Interstate 94, with one noted exception being through Bismarck-Mandan, where the Interstate skirts north of the former highway just east of McKenzie.
Early Origins and the Red Trail
The highway traces its origins to 1914, when planners laid out a northern transcontinental auto trail connecting New York to Washington state. Originally dubbed “The Red Trail” due to the distinct red paint used on wooden posts and maps to mark the route, the highway was also known in various regions as the National Parks Highway and The Theodore Roosevelt Badlands Trail.
Running largely parallel to the Northern Pacific Railway, the Red Trail was initially planned to traverse the northern portion of North Dakota—along a corridor similar to modern U.S. Highway 2, then called “The Wonderland Trail”—to bypass the formidable terrain of the Badlands. However, regional civic boosters successfully lobbied to shift the route southward. Relocating the corridor served larger population centers and offered direct access to regional landmarks and Yellowstone National Park.
Because federal infrastructure funds were limited, private citizens and local boosters raised private capital to finance essential crossings. This included funding a landmark bridge over the Little Missouri River near Medora, famously dubbed “The Bridge That Boost Built,” which featured a posted notice imposing a ten-dollar fine on anyone driving across “faster than a walking pace.”
Construction and Development
In its earliest form, “building” the highway primarily entailed linking existing wagon trails, rural dirt paths, and municipal thoroughfares. Construction on the official state and federal highway segments commenced in 1927, with the basic network completed the following year.
By the 1930s, North Dakota maintained approximately 9,000 miles of highway, though fewer than 100 miles were paved. The initial widespread paving of U.S. Highway 10 began in 1931 with the segment connecting Fargo to Mapleton, after which hard-surface paving gradually expanded westward across the state.
Bismarck-Mandan Alignment
Through Bismarck, the route of The Red Trail mostly includes Main Avenue, except west of Washington Street where present-day Front Avenue makes up the former highway. This was due to a realignment of Main Avenue in 1958. Entering Mandan is the stretch affectionately known as “The Strip” that was outside of city limits until 1975. The stretch became known as “Memorial Highway” to honor World War I veterans, same as the Liberty Memorial Bridge.
Crossing the Missouri River, the highway utilized the Liberty Memorial Bridge, which opened in 1922 as the region’s only vehicular river crossing until 1965. Heading west into Mandan, the highway traversed a commercial corridor affectionately known as “The Strip,” which remained outside Mandan’s official city limits until 1975. In honor of World War I veterans, this local stretch and the adjacent bridge were officially designated as “Memorial Highway.”
Economic Impact and Legacy
As the principal east–west highway and the only vehicular bridge spanning the Missouri River for decades, U.S. Highway 10 established Bismarck-Mandan as a key regional commerce hub during the mid-twentieth-century auto travel boom. Travel-dependent businesses thrived along the corridor, including service stations, diners, and motor inns. Demonstrating the corridor’s commercial importance, Bismarck’s Holiday Inn opened along Highway 10 immediately southeast of the Liberty Memorial Bridge in 1962; then considered one of the state’s premier hotels.
The highway’s dominant era ended in 1965 with the completion of Interstate 94. While Interstate 94 replaced most of the original U.S. 10 corridor across North Dakota, the freeway bypassed the urban cores of Bismarck and Mandan, skirting to the north near McKenzie. Following the bypass, many travel-oriented businesses along the old downtown alignment experienced significant economic decline.
Today, surviving local segments retain the names “Memorial Highway” or “Old Highway 10.” The preserved stretch between Bismarck and Dickinson is formally recognized as the “Old Red Trail,” serving as a historic scenic byway.
