By 1869, construction would restart on the next 142 miles of track in Iowa, connecting Des Moines to the Missouri River. This trackage would be required to transverse some tougher landscapes, including large rolling hills and summits.
The railroad would be completed later that year, creating a continuous network for the Rock Island between Chicago and Council Bluffs.
In addition, trackage rights across the Missouri River Bridge at Omaha allowed for trains to access Nebraska and head to other points west.
In 1880, the railroad became the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway.
The railroad continued to see a growth in traffic, so it expanded the line. Significant portions were rebuilt west of Des Moines, including reduced curves and not as steep hills.
However, the biggest improvements took place in 1953. The Atlantic Cutoff was completed by September of that year.
The Atlantic Cutoff was an important improvement, reducing grades and creating a fast network. The Council Bluffs-Atlantic route shaved 10 miles off the old trip.
Because of this, the old line between Atlantic and Council Bluffs, including sections through Shelby and Avoca were abandoned.
In the end, the cutoff did almost nothing for the Rock Island. Interstate 80 opened only a decade later, closely paralleling the route.
By 1980, the Rock Island completely went bankrupt. The system was abandoned and chopped up.
However, in 1982, Iowa Interstate Railroad stepped in and purchased the Rock Island mainline between Chicago and Omaha.
Today, Iowa Interstate continues to operate the Newton to Council Bluff segment as the 4th Subdivision.
08/15/21
This standard Warren Through Truss stood for many years, until it was replaced in 2017.
Originally built with one track in 1897, the bridge was expanded in 1901. The original 1897 span was a riveted Quadrangular Through Truss, which was replaced by the Warren Through Truss structure in the 1940s. This span was likely built approximately 1905 at an unknown location.
The added span was a 6 panel, riveted Warren Through Truss. The design is standard along Rock Island routes. In addition to the trusses, each span was approached by a small deck girder span. The bridge rested on concrete substructures.
While the 1901 span was removed in the 1990s, the warren span lasted until 2017.
Unfortunately, Iowa Interstate Railroad has decided to replace the number of trusses along their route. This truss was the first replaced, in the spring of 2017.
The author wishes a more historical preservation friendly approach would have been taken to preserve the bridge at this location.
The author has ranked this bridge as being moderately significant, due to the bridge having been one of a dying amount of trusses in Iowa.
The photo above is an overview.