WRIGHT 鈥� Google Maps offers three suggested routes between downtown Duluth and downtown Fargo 鈥� all ranging between 242 and 257 miles long.
But maybe having to swing south and drive through Brainerd is too far out of the way. Or taking the route through Walker just feels like a detour.
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If only there were a highway that followed a straight line between Duluth and Fargo, you could save some mileage because, as the crow flies, it鈥檚 just shy of 222 miles.
That was Gordon Bushnell鈥檚 dream. As he tried to pass legislation that would have established so-called Highway D.
That didn鈥檛 work, so he took matters into his own hands.
He bought up 40 acres of land along the proposed route north of Wright, Minnesota, and used a shovel, wheelbarrow and tractor to clear a path for a road through the woods and swamps. He had experience working in road construction from 1918 to 1927, according to the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library.
He managed to build 12 miles of road by the time died in 1982 at age 81, a year after a stroke left him unable to continue his work, according to an obituary that led the News Tribune鈥檚 front page June 30, 1982.
鈥淗e spent his lifetime building a highway that never was to be built,鈥� State Rep. Douglas Carlson, of Standstone, Minnesota, told the News Tribune at the time.
Bushnell鈥檚 efforts gained When Kuralt died in 1997, two years after purchasing the obituaries for him in newspapers across the country noted his interview with Bushnell.
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Kuralt recalled meeting Bushnell in his 1985 book, 鈥淥n the Road with Charles Kuralt,鈥� according to
鈥淏ushnell kept hoping the state would see the wisdom of a straight road across Minnesota and take over the job from him, but the state never did,鈥� Kuralt wrote.
visited Bushnell later, too.
Bushnell recalled experiencing side pain when he started his road project.
鈥淚 went to the doctor, and he said I needed to have my gallbladder out,鈥� Bushnell said in the 鈥淩eal People鈥� segment. 鈥淲ell, I wanted to dig that ditch up there, so I thought, 鈥榃ell, if I have my gallbladder out, I can鈥檛 dig the ditch.鈥� So I thought, 鈥榃ell, I鈥檒l dig the ditch first.鈥� So I started digging and the more I dug, the better I felt.鈥�
Lawmakers never took up finishing this straight-line highway between Duluth and Fargo. Minnesota Highway 210 and U.S. Highway 2 could handle the traffic, the News Tribune reported in 1982.
There was also an effort to turn it into the 鈥淏ushnell Recreational Trail,鈥� but that also appears to have never materialized.
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Asked by 鈥淩eal People鈥� if he was wasting his time building the road, Bushnell responded, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. Maybe I am, but I enjoy doing it, so what鈥檚 the difference?鈥�
Did you know Gordon Bushnell? Do you know where segments of his road are? Let News Tribune reporter Jimmy Lovrien know at 218-723-5332 or jlovrien@duluthnews.com.
The Trust Project
