 Ted started working on the bridge project in 1947 - the idea was sparked in a poker game.On May 24, 1955, Ted received a telegram from Senator Edward Thye telling him that the US Senate had just passed the bill authorizing the building of the traffic bridge across the Rainy River, linking Baudette, Minnesota with Rainy River, Ontario.After a dozen years of organizing and disappointments, construction was completed and the bridge was opened on July 1, 1960 before a crowd of 15,000 people.