Reaction mixed to proposed badlands bridge in ND

MEDORA, N.D. (AP) — Reaction is mixed to a proposed bridge over the Little Missouri River in southwest North Dakota's Billings County.

The $15 million structure would connect two highways. County Commission Chairman Jim Arthaud says it would cut as much as 100 miles off some commutes and speed economic development in the region.

But some people who spoke out at a public meeting in Medora on Thursday say the bridge isn't needed and will disrupt the scenery in the area where Theodore Roosevelt ranched and hunted before moving on to the White House.

The debate might be moot if the former president's great-grandson, Tweed Roosevelt, succeeds in his effort to designate the area as a national monument, which would block development.

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